layperson

[ ley-pur-suhn ]

noun

1. a person who is not a member of the clergy; one of the laity.
2. a person who is not a member of a given profession, as law or medicine.

Gender Note

See -person.

Word History and Origins

Origin of layperson¹

First recorded in 1970–75; lay(man) + -person

Example Sentences

He explains why in terms a layperson can understand: “Trains suck up leaves under the wheels and you get black surface on the wheels and if it’s wet it gets really slippery.”

From BBC

Adding a biometric identifier increases the value of a customer dataset, which already includes more personal information than a layperson could conceive of: demographics, address, contact information, education, ethnicity, purchase history, personal preferences, children, family members, recent behaviors, and so much more.

From Slate

A layperson might mistake the job that swept her across the ocean as “bodyguard.”

From New York Times

If that sounds a bit vague to the layperson, its target is crystal clear to legal experts: It’s aimed at right-wing activists and politicians who have filed their cases in federal courthouses presided over by highly partisan judges in Texas.

From Los Angeles Times

Where babies are harmed because of clinical negligence, the projected payouts can appear very sizable to the layperson.

From BBC