underlay Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a pad placed under a carpet
    carpet pad; underlayment; rug pad.
  2. verb raise or support (the level of printing) by inserting a piece of paper or cardboard under the type
    • underlay the plate
  3. verb put (something) under or beneath
    • They underlaid the shingles with roofing paper
  4. verb provide with a base, support, lining, or backing
    • underlay the boards with joists
  5. verb be or form the base for
    underlie.
  6. verb lie underneath
    underlie.

WordNet

Un`der*lay" transitive verb
Etymology
AS. underlecgan. See Under, and Lay, v. t.
Definitions
  1. To lay beneath; to put under.
  2. To raise or support by something laid under; as, to underlay a cut, plate, or the like, for printing. See Underlay, n., 2.
  3. To put a tap on (a shoe). Prov. Eng.
Un`der*lay" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Mining) To incline from the vertical; to hade; -- said of a vein, fault, or lode.
Un"der*lay` noun
Definitions
  1. (Mining) The inclination of a vein, fault, or lode from the vertical; a hade; -- called also underlie.
  2. (Print.) A thickness of paper, pasteboard, or the like, placed under a cut, or stereotype plate, or under type, in the from, to bring it, or any part of it, to the proper height; also, something placed back of a part of the tympan, so as to secure the right impression.

Webster 1913