lady

Meaning

Noun

1. The mistress of a household.
2. A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.
3. The feminine of lord.
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.
7. A polite reference or form of address to women.
8. (slang) Used to address a female.
9. (informal) A wife or girlfriend; a sweetheart.
10. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound.
11. (slang) A queen (the playing card).
12. Who is a woman.
13. Alternative form of Lady.
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.
15. (slang) A five-pound note. (Rhyming slang, Lady Godiva for fiver.)
16. (slang) A woman’s breast.
17. (slang) A queen.

Verb

To address as “lady”.

Hyphenated as

la‧dy

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈleɪdi/

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.