English Online Dictionary. What means lady? What does lady mean?
English
Etymology
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”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈleɪdi/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈleɪ.ɾi/
- Rhymes: -eɪdi
- Hyphenation: la‧dy
Noun
lady (plural ladies)
- (historical) The mistress of a household.
- A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.
- The feminine of lord.
- A title for someone married to a lord or gentleman.
- A title that can be used instead of the formal terms of marchioness, countess, viscountess, or baroness.
- (polite or used by children) A woman: an adult female human.
- (in the plural) A polite reference or form of address to women.
- (slang) Used to address a female.
- (ladies' or ladies) Toilets intended for use by women.
- (informal) A wife or girlfriend; a sweetheart.
- A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound.
- (slang) A queen (the playing card).
- (attributive, with a professional title) Who is a woman.
- (Wicca) Alternative form of Lady.
- (archaic) gastric mill, the triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster, consisting of calcareous plates; so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure.
- (UK, slang) A five-pound note. (Rhyming slang, Lady Godiva for fiver.)
- (slang, chiefly in the plural) A woman’s breast.
- (chess, slang, rare) A queen.
Derived terms
- Pages starting with “lady”.
Related terms
- fakaleitī
- Lady
Descendants
Translations
References
- Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. →ISBN
Verb
lady (third-person singular simple present ladies, present participle ladying, simple past and past participle ladied)
- To address as “lady”.
See also
- lord
- gentleman
- ladies' room
- broad
Anagrams
- DALY, Daly, Dyal, Lyda, layd, yald
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English lady, from Middle English lady, from Old English hlǣfdīġe.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lɛ.di/, /le.di/
Noun
lady f (plural ladies or ladys)
- lady (wife of a British lord; important woman, usually British)
- Synonyms: dame, madame
Further reading
- “lady”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English lady.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈlɛ.di/, /ˈle.di/
- Rhymes: -ɛdi, -edi
Noun
lady f (invariable)
- lady (wife of a lord; important woman)
Synonyms
- dama, donna (archaic), signora
References
Middle English
Alternative forms
- laddy, ladi, ladie, ladij, ladye, lavedi, lefdi, lefdy, levedi, levedy, lhevedi
- (early ME) lafdi, laffdiȝ, læfdi, lævedi, leafdi
Etymology
From Old English hlǣfdīġe, in turn from hlāf (“bread, loaf”) + *dīġe (“maid”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈlaːdiː(ə)/, /ˈladiː(ə)/
- (mainly Early ME) IPA(key): /ˈlavdiː(ə)/
Noun
lady (plural ladies, genitive ladies or lady)
- A woman with authority or leadership:
- A lady (mistress of a household)
-
- 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.
- And when the angel of the Lord had found her in the wilderness beside the spring of water, which is in the desert on the way to Shur, he said to her, "Hagar, handmaiden of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She answered, "I am fleeing from the face of Sarai, my lady".
- 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.
-
- A lady (noblewoman or female monarch).
- A woman who manages an abbey or inn.
- A lady (mistress of a household)
- The wife of a noble or monarch.
- A polite way to address a noble or honoured woman.
- (by extension) Any woman.
- A female deity (or the Virgin Mary).
Descendants
- English: lady (see there for further descendants)
- Scots: lady, leddy
- Yola: laady
References
- “lādī(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Polish
Etymology 1
Unadapted borrowing from English lady, from Middle English lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from Old English hlǣfdīġe.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈlɛj.di/
- Rhymes: -ɛjdi
- Syllabification: la‧dy
Noun
lady f (indeclinable)
- Lady (aristocratic title for a woman)
- lady (wife of a lord)
- lady (woman of breeding and authority)
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈla.dɨ/
- Rhymes: -adɨ
- Syllabification: la‧dy
- Homophone: Lady
Noun
lady f
- inflection of lada:
- genitive singular
- nominative/accusative/vocative plural
Further reading
- lady in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- lady in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English lady.
Noun
lady f (plural lady)
- lady
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English lady.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈleidi/ [ˈlei̯.ð̞i]
- Rhymes: -eidi
Noun
lady f (plural ladies)
- lady (wife of a lord; important woman)
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
Further reading
- “lady”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014