# lady
## 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: /ˈleɪdi/
** (General American) IPA: [ˈleɪ.ɾi]
** Audio (US):(file)
* 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.
    "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: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:‘ […] 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”. […]’.
* The feminine of lord.
** c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [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 […]
* 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.
    Please direct this lady to the soft furnishings department.
* (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!
** 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.
* (slang) Used to address a female.
    Hey, lady, move your car!
    Hey, ladies, how are you doing?
* (informal) A wife or girlfriend; a sweetheart.
** c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 59, column 2:It is my Lady, O it is my Loue, O that ſhe knew ſhe were, She ſpeakes, yet ſhe ſayes nothing, what of that?
** 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC:But nothing could now exceed my confusion upon seeing the gentleman and his lady enter
* 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, Dublin: W. G. Jones, published 1768, page 154:The ſoldier here his waſted ſtore ſupplies, And takes new valor from the Ladies’ eyes.
* (slang) A queen (the playing card).
* (attributive, with a professional title) Who is a woman.
    A lady doctor.
** 1964, James Holledge, Sex and the Australian Teenager, Melbounre: Horwitz Publications, page 15:The recent disclosures caused one headmistress of a city college to arrange for sex instructions to be given by a lady doctor to various forms.
* (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

* American painted lady
* Asian lady beetle
* bag lady
* Bankside lady
* barlady
* bearded lady
* belady
* black lady
* byrlady
* cat lady
* chairlady
* charlady
* cleaning lady
* Cumberlady
* dinner lady
* dragon lady
* faint heart never won fair lady
* find the lady
* first lady
* follow the lady
* forelady
* garbage lady
* gaydy
* gay lady
* genteel lady
* gray lady
* iron lady
* it ain't over till the fat lady sings
* it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings
* it ain't over until the fat lady sings
* it isn't over till the fat lady sings
* it isn't over 'til the fat lady sings
* it isn't over until the fat lady sings
* Joan's as good as my lady in the dark
* ladies' aid society
* ladies and gentlemen
* ladies and gents
* ladies and germs
* ladies' auxiliary
* ladies' cloakroom
* ladies' companion
* ladies' eardrops
* ladies' fever
* ladies' fingers
* ladies first
* ladies' lounge
* ladies man
* ladies' man
* ladies' night
* ladies' rackets
* ladies' special
* ladies' tresses
* ladify
* ladily
* ladiness
* lady abbess
* Lady altar
* lady beetle
* ladybeetle
* lady bird, lady-bird, ladybird
* ladybits
* ladyboner
* lady boner
* lady-boner
* Lady Bountifel
* lady boy
* ladyboy
* ladybro
* lady bug, lady-bug, ladybug
* Lady Campbell
* lady chapel
* ladyclock
* lady crab
* Lady Day
* lady fern, lady-fern
* ladyfinger
* ladyfish
* lady-fly
* ladyfolk
* ladyfolks
* lady friend
* ladyfy
* lady garden
* Lady Godiva
* ladyhood
* lady-in-waiting
* lady in waiting
* ladyish
* ladyism
* lady killer, lady-killer, ladykiller
* lady-killing
* ladykilling
* ladykin
* ladykind
* ladyless
* ladylike
* ladyling
* ladylove
* lady luck
* lady lumps
* ladylumps
* Lady Macbeth strategy
* ladymag
* Lady McLeod
* lady of leisure
* lady of light virtue
* lady of pleasure
* lady of the evening
* lady of the house
* lady of the night
* lady or tiger
* lady palm
* lady paramount
* ladyparts
* lady parts
* ladyporn
* Lady Presidentress
* lady's bedstraw
* lady's eardrop
* lady's finger
* ladyship
* lady's laces
* lady slipper
* ladyslipper
* lady's maid
* lady's man
* lady's mantle
* lady smock
* lady's slipper
* lady's thistle
* lady's thumb
* ladystick
* ladystuff
* lady who lunches
* landlady
* leading lady
* little lady
* lollipop lady
* lords and ladies
* lunch lady, lunch-lady, lunchlady
* mail lady
* May-lady
* merlady
* methinks the lady doth protest too much
* m'lady, malady, milady
* naked lady
* newslady
* northern lady fern
* no way to treat a lady
* office lady
* old lady
* one fat lady
* Our Lady
* Our Lady of Dolors
* Our Lady of the Seven Dolors
* Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows
* overlady
* painted lady
* Pink Lady, pink lady
* pizza lady
* post lady
* Quaker ladies
* ragged lady
* saleslady
* school dinner lady
* school-dinner lady
* second lady
* shoplady
* shopping-bag lady
* silver-lady
* snowlady
* sporting lady
* tea lady
* the First Lady
* the lady doth protest too much
* theydy
* time lady
* translady
* tuck shop lady arm
* Tupperware lady
* two fat ladies
* walking lady
* warlady
* white lady
* white lady tears
* young lady
* English terms starting with “lady”

#### Related terms

* fakaleitī
* Lady

#### Descendants

* ⇒ Afrikaans: haar ladyskap
* → Arabic: لِيدِي (līdī)
    Egyptian Arabic: ليدي (lēdī)
* → Belarusian: лэ́дзі (lédzi)
* → Bulgarian: ле́йди (léjdi)
* → French: lady
* → German: Lady
* → Greek: λαίδη (laídi), λέδη (lédi)
* → Italian: lady
* → Japanese: レディ (redi), レディー (redī)
* → Korean: 레이디 (reidi)
* → Latvian: lēdija
* → Macedonian: леди (ledi)
* → Polish: lady
* → Romanian: lady
* → Russian: ле́ди (lédi)
* → Spanish: lady
* → Swedish: lady
* → Tongan: leitī
* → Ukrainian: ле́ді (lédi)
* → Volapük: läd

#### Translations

Albanian: zonjë (sq) f
Arabic: رَبَّة f (rabba), رَبَّةْ اَلْبَيْت (rabbat al-bayt), رَبَّةْ اَلْمَنْزِل f (rabbat al-manzil)
Egyptian Arabic: ست البيت f (set il-bēt), (formally) ربة منزل f (rabet manzel)
Armenian: տանտիկին (hy) (tantikin)
Basque: andre (eu)
Bulgarian: стопа́нка (bg) f (stopánka)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 女主人 (zh) (nǚzhǔrén)
Egyptian: (ḥnwt f)
Esperanto: domestrino
Finnish: emäntä (fi), rouva (fi)
Galician: dona f, señora (gl) f
German: Herrin des Hauses f, Hausherrin (de) f, Ehefrau des Hausherrn f, Frau des Hauses f
Greek: νοικοκυρά (el) f (noikokyrá)
Irish: bantiarna f
Latin: domina (la) f
Latvian: saimniece f
Macedonian: стопанка f (stopanka), газдарица f (gazdarica)
Middle English: lady, dame
Old English: hlæfdige f
Ottoman Turkish: قادین (kadın), سیده (seyyide)
Persian: کدبانو (fa) (kadbânu)
Portuguese: ama (pt) f
Romanian: doamnă (ro) f
Russian: хозя́йка (ru) f (xozjájka)
Scottish Gaelic: baintighearna (gd) f
Serbo-Croatian:
Roman: gospodarica (sh) f, gazdarica (sh) f
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: kněni f
Spanish: ama (es) f
Swahili: msichana (sw)
Swedish: fru (sv) c, herrinna (sv) c
Zulu: inkosikazi (zu) class 9/6 :
Afrikaans: haar ladyskap edele
Albanian: zonjë (sq) f
Arabic: لِيدِي f (lēdī)
Egyptian Arabic: ليدي f (lēdī)
Belarusian: лэ́дзі f (lédzi)
Breton: itron (br) f
Bulgarian: ле́йди f (léjdi)
Cornish: arloedhes f
Czech: dáma (cs) f
Dutch: dame (nl) f
Egyptian: (ḥnwt f)
Esperanto: lordedzino
Finnish: lady (fi)
French: dame (fr) f, madame (fr) f, lady (fr) f
Galician: dama f, señora (gl) f, dona f
German: Frau (de) f, Herrin (de) f, Dame (de) f
Greek: λαίδη (el) f (laídi)
Hungarian: úrnő (hu)
Irish: bantiarna f
Italian: signora (it) f, lady (it) f
Japanese: 夫人 (ja) (ふじん, fujin), レディ (ja) (redi)
Korean: 레이디 (reidi), 부인 (ko) (bu'in)
Latin: domina (la) f
Latvian: lēdija f
Macedonian: дама f (dama), леди f (ledi)
Manx: benchiarn f
Maori: rēri
Middle English: lady
Old English: drihtlice f, ides f, freo f, hlæfdige f
Ottoman Turkish: قادین (kadın), سیده (seyyide)
Polish: pani (pl) f, lady (pl) f
Portuguese: senhora (pt) f
Romanian: lady (ro) f, doamnă (ro) f
Russian: ле́ди (ru) f (lédi), да́ма (ru) f (dáma), госпожа́ (ru) f (gospožá), ба́рыня (ru) f (bárynja)
Scottish Gaelic: baintighearna (gd) f, leadaidh f
Spanish: señora (es) f
Swedish: fru (sv), herrinna (sv) c
Ukrainian: ле́ді f (lédi)
Welsh: arglwyddes f
Zulu: inkosikazi (zu) class 9/6 :

#### 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”.
** 1897, Macmillan’s Magazine, page 13, column 1:“ […] When I am dead ye’ll mind I said it, my leddy.” “Ah, Elspeth, but do not lady me; say Christine, just wee Christine. […] ”
** 1906, Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine: A Popular Journal of General Literature, page 374:“I thought you would never come, Lady Mary,” and he kissed her again. “Why will you persist in ladying me? Have I not told you—stop, now, will you?” and she pushed his mouth away. “Have I not told you as many times as you have seen me to call me Mary only?”
** 1928, The Letters of Mary Nisbet of Dirleton, Countess of Elgin, New York, N.Y.: D Appleton and Company, page 276:I see Bey still continues jealous of poor Mou; does she still go by that name? In Greek it means “my” and her Paramanas always called her Lady Mary Mou, so we called her Mou. I hope you admire my teaching you Greek. I beg you will break Bruce of ladying her, if it should grow up with him it would be detestable.
** 2006, Jim Butcher, Cursor’s Fury: Book Three of the Codex Alera, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, page 658:‘Then, Lady Placida, there is something I wish to ask of you.’ ‘Only,’ she said sternly, ‘if you stop Ladying me. I have a name, dear.’
** 2013, Brenda Joyce, A Rose in the Storm, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 130:“Lady!” “No, do not ‘lady’ me!” Margaret admonished.
** 2018, Skye MacKinnon, Winter Princess (Daughter of Winter, Book Two), Peryton Press:“How can I help, my lady?” “Stop the ladying. […]”

### 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: /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: /ˈlɛ.di/, /ˈle.di/
* Rhymes: -ɛdi, -edi

### Noun

lady f (invariable)
* lady (wife of a lord; important woman)

#### Synonyms

* dama, donna (archaic), signora

### References

* ↑ lady in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* laddy, ladi, ladie, ladij, ladye, lavedi, lefdi, lefdy, levedi, levedy, lhevedi
* lafdi, laffdiȝ, læfdi, lævedi, leafdi (Early Middle English)

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈlaːdiː(ə)/, /ˈladiː(ə)/
* (mainly Early ME) IPA: /ˈlavdiː(ə)/

### Noun

lady (plural ladies, genitive ladies or lady)
* A woman with authority or leadership:
** A lady (mistress of a household)
*** 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.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".
** A lady (noblewoman or female monarch).
** A woman who manages an abbey or inn.
* 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
* → Icelandic: lafði

#### 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: /ˈlɛj.di/
* Audio:(file)
* 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: /ˈla.dɘ/
* Rhymes: -adɘ
* 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: /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 [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English lady, from Middle English lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from Old English hlǣfdīġe.

### Noun

lady c
* Lady (aristocratic title for a woman)
* lady (wife of a lord)