verb

lie

Translation

to lie down, to be situated, to tell an untruth

I need to lie down for a while.

The book is lying on the table.

Don't lie to me.

((lie down)) to recline. I need to lie down.

((lie)) ((on/in sth.)) to be situated on/in something. The book is lying on the table.

((lie)) ((to sb.)) ((about sth.)) to tell an untruth to someone. Don't lie to me about your plans.

Synonyms (recline): rest, lounge; Synonyms (untruth): fib, deceive

Two different origins: 'to recline' is from Old English 'licgan'; 'to tell an untruth' is from 'leogan'.

To recline, you 'lay' down yesterday. To tell an untruth, you just 'lied'. This helps distinguish the past tenses.