• Today's Word

Waylay

🔊 Listen to the word Waylay

WAY-lay

Definition

(verb) To stop or intercept someone unexpectedly, especially in order to attack, rob, or engage them in unavoidable conversation

Example

She tried to slip out of the conference early but was waylaid by three colleagues with questions before she reached the door.

Word Origin

Waylay is a compound of way (path or road) and lay — from the Old English licgan, meaning “to lie in wait.” The word has been in use since the 16th century, originally describing the literal act of lying in ambush along a road to attack a traveler, before broadening to include any form of unexpected interception.

Fun Fact

Waylaying was so common a threat in medieval and early modern Europe that entire legal frameworks were built around it. Highwaymen — criminals who waylaid travelers on roads between towns — were such a persistent problem in 17th and 18th century England that carrying armed escorts became standard practice for anyone transporting valuables. The romance of the highwayman became a cultural obsession, spawning ballads, plays, and novels that glamorized the very crime that terrorized ordinary travelers. The word itself retains that faint whiff of the road and the ambush even in its most mundane modern uses.