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lay figure definition

lay figure

  1. an artist's jointed model of the human form, on which drapery is arranged to get the proper effect
  2. a person who is a mere puppet or a nonentity

Etymology: earlier layman < Du leeman < MDu led, limb, joint, akin to OE lith, limb + man, man

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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