noun, masculine/lɛ/plural: lais
a mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance., with stanzas that do not repeat
Inherited from Middle French lai, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), from Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“to jump, spring, play”). Akin to Old High German leih (“a play, skit, melody, song”), Middle High German leich (“piece of music, epic song played on a harp”), Old English lācan (“to move quickly, fence, sing”). More at lake. Alternatively from Celtic; compare Old Irish lo