Word: lady Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-der.? Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz Proto-West Germanic *hlaib Old English hlāf Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *daigijǭder. Old English dǣġe Old English hlǣfdīġe Middle English lady English lady 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”) + dǣġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad. Pronunciation: /ˈleɪ.di/, /ˈlɛj.dɪj/, [ˈleɪ.ɾi], /ˈlæɪ.di/, [ˈlæɪ.ɾi] 1. The mistress of a household. Labels: historical 2. A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority. Example: "I would like the dining room to be fully set by tonight; would you do so?" "Yes, my lady." Example: ‘[…] 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, a lordess. Example: 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. Example: ’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. A woman: an adult female human. Labels: polite Example: Please direct this lady to the soft furnishings department. 7. A polite reference or form of address to women. Labels: in-plural Example: Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today. Follow me, ladies! Example: 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. 8. Used to address a female. Labels: slang Example: Hey, lady, move your car! Example: Hey, ladies, how are you doing? 9. A wife or girlfriend; a sweetheart. Labels: informal Example: It is my Lady, O it is my Loue, O that ſhe knew ſhe were, She ſpeakes, yet ſhe ſayes nothing, what of that? Example: But nothing could now exceed my confusion upon seeing the gentleman and his lady enter 10. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound. Example: The ſoldier here his waſted ſtore ſupplies, And takes new valor from the Ladies’ eyes. 11. A queen (the playing card). Labels: slang 12. A woman. Labels: attributive Example: A lady doctor. Example: 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. 13. Alternative form of Lady. Labels: alt-of, alternative 14. 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. Labels: archaic 15. A five-pound note. (Rhyming slang, Lady Godiva for fiver.) Labels: UK, slang 16. A woman’s breast. Labels: in-plural, slang 17. A queen. Labels: rare, slang