unlaid
- adjective
- Some reptiles can retain unlaid eggs for several days before depositing them.
- unlaid egg
Examples
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The study focused on the development of unlaid eggs within the female fish.
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The veterinarian explained that the bird was suffering from an unlaid egg.
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The nest contained several unlaid eggs.
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She found an unlaid egg in the barn.
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The ornithologist examined the unlaid eggs to study the bird's reproductive habits.
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Scientists discovered an unlaid egg in the nest, indicating that the mother had not yet completed her reproductive cycle.
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The biologist noted that the unlaid egg remained inside the bird, which is common during the early stages of nesting.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
unlaid = laid (transparent) = un + laid
Applied to eggs, 'un-' negates 'laid' straightforwardly (eggs not yet deposited), a directly compositional meaning.
Etymology
Unlaid comes from the prefix un- meaning 'not' and laid, from the verb 'to lay', as in 'to lay eggs'. So an unlaid egg is simply an egg that has not yet been laid or deposited.