lair

Etymology 1

From Middle English leir, leire, lair, lare, from Old English leġer (“couch, bed”), from Proto-Germanic *legrą, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.

noun

1. A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
   O dainty dew, O morning dew / That gleamed in the world's first dawn, did you / And the sweet grass and manful oaks / Give lair and rest / To him who toadwise sits and croaks / His death-behest? a. 1881, Sidney Lanier, Strange Jokes
2. A shed or shelter for domestic animals.
3. (figurative) A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway.
4. (Britain dialectal) A bed or resting place.
   Then would I in Plenty's lap, For the first time take a nap; Falling back in easy lair, Sweetly slumb'ring in my chair; 1820, John Clare, “Address to Plenty in Winter”, in Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, page 50
   Wake ye, sleep ye, my hapless boy, In this homeless house of care? Lack ye the warmth of a mother's eye On the cauldrife, lonely lair? 1843-06, William Thom, “Extract from a Letter to J. Robertson, Esq.”, in Rhymes and Recollections of a Hand-loom Weaver, 3rd edition, London: Smith, Elder and Co., published 1847, page 136
5. (Scotland) A grave; a cemetery plot.
   We appreciate that this is a sensitive issue for lair owners and would like to assure them that the maintenance of the cemetery is carried out in a sensitive and dignified manner. 2018-08-02, BBC News, quoting Aberdeen City Council, “Dad 'will sleep by son's grave' to stop council clearing mementoes”, in BBC News

verb

1. (Britain) To rest; to dwell.
   The lee-light that December gies Was lairing in the wast, Whan Christy wi' her oa claes, Was boun' to dree the blast. 1822, Hew Ainslie, “The Waesome Death O' Christy Ford”, in A Pilgrimage to the Land of Burns, Deptford: W. Brown, page 42
2. (Britain) To lay down.
3. (Britain) To bury.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse leir (“clay, mud”). Compare Icelandic leir (“clay”).

noun

1. (Scotland) A bog; a mire.

verb

1. (transitive, Scotland) To mire.
2. (intransitive, Scotland) To become mired.

Etymology 3

Backformation from lairy.

noun

1. (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial) A person who dresses in a showy but tasteless manner and behaves in a vulgar and conceited way; a show-off.

Etymology 4

noun

1. Obsolete form of layer.
   The walls, which are fixed direct into the ground without a plinth, are made of wattle and plastered with a thin lair of mud or cowdung. 1912, Central Provinces (India), Central Provinces District Gazetteers, page 96