layman

[ ley-muh n ]

/ ˈleɪ mən /

a person who is not a member of the clergy; one of the laity.

a person who is not a member of a given profession, as law or medicine.

Origin of layman

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; see origin at lay³, man¹

See -man.

Even a layman can see the unconnected letters and the strange angles of the note.

The John Edwards Verdict Waiting Game |Diane Dimond |May 26, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Reading such a thing might convince the layman that getting hammered is healthy for the heart.

Is Alcohol Really Good for You? |Alizah Salario |May 16, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Nuclear jargon has evolved into a code that is indecipherable to the layman.

Be Afraid, Very Afraid |Nathaniel Rich |March 15, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Some priests were associated with him as coadjutors; but he himself was a layman.

The Revolt of The Netherlands, Complete |Friedrich Schiller

Mr. Bennett felt, as every layman feels when arguing with a lawyer, as if he were in the coils of a python.

The Girl on the Boat |Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
Had Bloom and Stephen been baptised, and where and by whom, cleric or layman?

Ulysses |James Joyce
If Bishop Caiaphas had been a layman he would perhaps have added, Damn him!

Rejected of Men |Howard Pyle
"He is more churchman than layman, being convent bred, and in the lesser orders," said the ready cure.

The Cloister and the Hearth |Charles Reade

layman

/ (ˈleɪmən) /

a man who is not a member of the clergy

a person who does not have specialized or professional knowledge of a subject science for the layman

Gender-neutral form: layperson