laypeople

[ ley-pee-puhl ]

plural noun

1. laymen and laywomen collectively.

Example Sentences

Good science writing is a fine balancing act between not speaking over the heads of laypeople and not insulting the intelligence of experts.

From Salon

Among those freed on Thursday are Catholic laypeople, students and 13 members of Texas-based evangelical organisation Mountain Gateway, the White House statement said.

From BBC

This knowledge also allows us laypeople to find some comfort in compelling Olympic comeback tales.

From Salon

But it is also organized as a faith community, part of the new monastic movement that began three decades ago among lay Protestants who looked to Roman Catholic and particularly Celtic Christianity for inspiration on how laypeople could work, eat and worship as a community.

From Seattle Times

Dozens of protesters, including clergy members and laypeople from different Christian denominations, peacefully occupied the cafeteria at peak lunch hour, chanting and singing to demand a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and an end to U.S. arms transfers to Israel.

From New York Times

Related Words

• laymen

More About Laypeople

What does laypeople mean?

Laypeople is used in a religious context to refer to people who are regular members of a religious congregation and not members of the clergy—that is, laypeople are people who are not religious officials like priests.

The term clergy collectively refers to people who have been ordained or otherwise serve as religious leaders or officials, such as priests, rabbis, and nuns. The singular form of laypeople is layperson. In a religious context, laypeople can be collectively referred to as the laity.

The word layman specifically refers to a man, but it is often used regardless of gender. However, layperson is truly gender-neutral.

Laypeople is perhaps even more commonly used outside of a religious context to refer to people who are not members of a particular profession or who are not experts in or knowledgeable about a particular field. The related phrases layman’s terms and layperson’s terms refer to plain language that the average person can understand, as opposed to technical jargon that can only be understood by experts in the topic or those who are already familiar with it.

When someone asks for an explanation in layperson’s terms, they want it to be as simple and straightforward as possible, so that it can be understood by laypeople—nonexperts.

Example: She has built a career as a science writer by explaining complex topics in a way that is accessible to laypeople.

Where does laypeople come from?

The first records of the word laypeople come from the 1970s. The lay in laypeople is an adjective meaning “belonging to, pertaining to, or performed by the people or laity, as distinguished from the clergy.”

Lay comes from the Middle English lai, meaning “uneducated” or “not belonging to the clergy.” It ultimately comes from the Greek lāikós, meaning “of the people” (as in the common people).

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to laypeople?

• layperson (singular)

What are some synonyms for laypeople?

• the laity
• average people
• nonexperts

What are some words that share a root or word element with laypeople? 

• layman
• laywoman
• lay
• people
• laity

What are some words that often get used in discussing laypeople?

• terms
• simple
• plain
• language
• average
• expert
• jargon
• clergy
• member
• congregation
• general
• audience

How is laypeople used in real life?

Laypeople is perhaps most commonly used in non-religious contexts. It’s especially used in the discussion of how information should be presented to nonexperts.

When it comes to the #COVID19 vaccines, providers and laypeople alike have questions about the technologies behind them. Get some preliminary answers here: https://t.co/uM2T1tYrWF

— University of Pittsburgh (@PittTweet) January 4, 2021

It wasn’t too technical: right on the edge of being a “popular” book for laypeople (such as myself). Chapters on system dynamics, long tail distributions, Markov models, etc.

— Scott Brinker (@chiefmartec) December 30, 2020

Explainer for laypeople- in mass casualty settings, such as war zones or natural disasters, 'greatest good for greatest number' means directing health resources to those most likely to survive- the walking wounded and those responsive to simple measures.
2/4

— Rhea Liang (@LiangRhea) January 5, 2021

 

Try using laypeople!

Which of the following terms can be used as a synonym of laypeople?

A. average people
B. nonexperts
C. the laity
D. all of the above