laity vs the great unwashed

laity and the great unwashed both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
laity	Yes	No	No	No
the great unwashed	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, the great unwashed is a hypernym of laity; that is, the great unwashed is a word with a broader meaning than laity:

laity: in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy
the great unwashed: the common people generally

Other hypernyms of laity include hoi polloi, mass, masses, multitude, people.

laity (noun)	the great unwashed (noun)
in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy	the common people generally