lady

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See also: Lady, lądy, and łady

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from Old English hlǣfdīġe (“mistress of a household, wife of a lord, lady”, literally “bread-kneader”), from hlāf (“bread, loaf”) + dīġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈleɪdi/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪdi
  • Hyphenation: la‧dy

Noun[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

lady (plural ladies)

  1. (historical) The mistress of a household.
  2. A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.
    "I would like the dining room to be fully set by tonight; would you do so?" "Yes, my lady".
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess‎[1]:
      ‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’.
  3. The feminine of lord.
    • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i], page 283, column 2:
      Of all theſe bounds euen from this Line, to this, / With ſhadowie Forreſts, and with Champains rich’d / With plenteous Riuers, and wide-ſkirted Meades / We make thee Lady.
    • 1848, James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfaul, 6th edition, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, published 1858:
      ’T was the proudest hall in the North Countree,
      And never its gates might opened be,
      Save to lord or lady of high decree […]
  4. A title for someone married to a lord or gentleman.
  5. A title that can be used instead of the formal terms of marchioness, countess, viscountess, or baroness.
  6. (polite or used by children) A woman: an adult female human.
    Please direct this lady to the soft furnishings department.
  7. (in the plural) A polite reference or form of address to women.
    Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today. Follow me, ladies!
  8. (slang) Used to address a female.
    Hey, lady, move your car!
    Hey, ladies, how are you doing?
  9. (ladies' or ladies) Toilets intended for use by women.
  10. (familiar) A wife or girlfriend; a sweetheart.
  11. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound.
    • 1666, Edmund Waller, “Instructions to a Painter”, in The Works of Edmund Walker‎[2], Dublin: W. G. Jones, published 1768, page 154:
      The ſoldier here his waſted ſtore ſupplies,
      And takes new valor from the Ladies’ eyes.
  12. (slang) A queen (the playing card).
  13. (attributive, with a professional title) Who is a woman.
    A lady doctor.
  14. (Wicca) Alternative form of Lady.
  15. The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster, consisting of calcareous plates; so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure.
  16. (Britain, slang) A five-pound note. (Rhyming slang, Lady Godiva for fiver.)
  17. (slang) A woman’s breast.

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from lady (noun)

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English lady.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

lady f (plural ladys)

  1. lady (wife of a lord; important woman)

Synonyms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English lady.

Noun[edit]

lady f (invariable)

  1. lady (wife of a lord; important woman)

Synonyms[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English hlǣfdīġe, in turn from hlāf (“bread, loaf”) + dīġe (“maid”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈlaːdiː(ə)/
  • (Early ME) IPA(key): /ˈlavdiː(ə)/

Noun[edit]

lady (plural ladys)

  1. lady (important woman)
    • c. 1382, John Wycliffe, transl., Wycliffe's Bible, Genesis 16:7–9:
      And whanne the aungel of the Lord hadde foundun hir biside the welle of water in wildirnes, the which is in the / weye of Sur in desert, he seide to hir, Agar, the hand mayden of Saray, whens comyst thow, and whithir gost thow? / The which answeride, Fro the face of Saray my ladi I flee.
      (please add an English translation of this quote)

Descendants[edit]

  • English: lady (see there for further descendants)
  • Yola: laady

References[edit]

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

lady f

  1. inflection of lada:
    1. genitive singular
    2. nominative/accusative/vocative plural

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English lady.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈleidi/, [ˈlei̯.ð̞i]

Noun[edit]

lady f (plural ladies)

  1. lady (wife of a lord; important woman)

Further reading[edit]

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