Layer

How to spell layer

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce layer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does layer mean?

1. nounA single thickness of a material spread over a surface or lying between other such thicknesses.
2. verbTo arrange or build something in successive thicknesses, one on top of another.

Layer in a sentence

• noun

  A thin layer of dust covered the bookshelf.

• verb

  The recipe asks you to layer the pasta with sauce and cheese.

• noun

  The cake had a generous layer of cream in the middle.

• verb

  In cold weather it helps to layer your clothing for warmth.

Where does layer come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes straight from the native English verb 'lay', which descends from the Old English lecgan, meaning 'to put down' or 'to place'. The agent ending -er was added to give a noun for something that is laid down, and the earliest uses in the 1300s and 1400s actually described a person who lays things, such as a bricklayer or a hen that reliably lays eggs. The familiar modern sense, a sheet or thickness of material spread over a surface, grew out of that idea of something laid flat one upon another, and it became common in the 1600s. Because the spelling simply stacks 'lay' and 'er', writers sometimes hesitate over whether the 'y' survives, but it does: lay plus er gives layer. The very same lecgan root sits inside everyday relatives like 'ledge' and 'low' (in the sense of laying low), all carrying the underlying notion of being set down.

How the word is built

• lay (from Old English lecgan: to put down, place)
• -er (noun/agent suffix denoting one that does, or a thing laid)