Obs. rare–1. [f. LAY a. + -SHIP.] The condition of a layman; in quot. used (with poss. pron.) as a mock title.
1641. Milton, Ch. Govt., II. iii. Wks. 1851, III. 168. In respect of a woodden table and the perimeter of holy ground about it, a flagon pot, and a linnen corporal, the Priest esteems their lay-ships unhallow’d and unclean.
