what and where does the term "lamens terms" come from?

Answer 1

The other answerers are correct when they explain the phrase "laymen's terms" has its roots in religion. As they have told you a "layman" is a common member of the congregation who assists the professional clergyman serving the congregation. For ages, Latin was the language used to conduct services and few, if any, people outside of the clergy could understand Latin. Part of the reason religious leaders officiated in Latin was to make it necessary for the people to have trained, Latin-speaking clergy to help them practice religion. So, to put something in "laymen's terms" was to start by speaking in the layman's native tongue so they could understand and make religion more accessible to them. Many early religious reformers broke from the Latin tradition because they felt it was wrong for religious leaders to come between the people and their practice of religion. So, these reformers began conducting services in "laymen's terms" so the people could better understand the practice of religion.

Answer 2

The term layman or layperson originated from the use of the term laity, but over the centuries, changed definition to mean a person who is a non-expert in a given field of knowledge.

The concept of describing something in layman's terms has come into wide use in the English speaking world. To put something in layman's terms is to describe a complex or technical issue using words and terms that the average individual (someone without professional training in the subject area) can understand, so that they may comprehend the issue to some degree.

Answer 3

Define Lamen

Answer 4

First, the word is "layman." A lay person is someone who's an amateur, rather than a professional, in some field. It originally came from religious use, and refers to a "lay" person rather than a "clergy" person such as a priest or rabbi. It is also used quite a lot in medicine, where someone might ask a doctor to explain something about an illness, medication, etc., in "layman's terms," meaning in simple language, rather than in a scientific way.

Answer 5

Your spelling's wrong. Layman's term. Someone who is not a professional would be a layman. For instance, the Doctor will write a RX for Acetaminophen 1200mg for pain attributed to a contusion on the ulna.
In layman's terms that means: You have a "Boo-Boo" on your arm & you are going to be taking something for pain, good ole Tylenol.

Answer 6

It's 'layman's terms', meaning in terms a simple man would understand.

A layman is anyone who isn't a clergyman or a professional person. Generally used to refer to 'anyman', or 'the average Joe'.

Answer 7

it's "Layman's Terms"
According to the American heritage dictionary, on meaning of lay is "Of or typical of the average common man" it comes from the Middle English laie - which is from the old French, lai, which is from late Latin laicus which is from the Greek, laikos from laos meaning the people.

Answer 8

if i thought about it, in my opinion, think about this one before giving me a thumbs down. everybody expected the underdogs to lose, as they should, theyre the underdogs, the pats were undefeated. It is probably known as an upset because, like everyone thought and said "the patriots are going to demolish them, 36-6" as an example, everybody was expected such a team to just destroy the giants like they destroyed every other team, but it was upsetting to see the best team, 18-0, the team everybody thought would win, the best team, to lose. that is an upset, not a shock. it was upsetting, and im sure many people lost much money from it. that is upsetting, and i guess you could say its a shock too, it was a shocking upset, nonetheless.

Answer 9

I thought it was layman's terms and that it was used to describe things in simpler words.

Answer 10

Lamens