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Word Study
lady
CIDE DICTIONARY
lady, n. [OE. ladi, læfdi, AS. hl, hl; AS. hlāf loaf + a root of uncertain origin, possibly akin to E. dairy. See Loaf, and cf. Lord.].
- A woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family; a mistress; the female head of a household. [1913 Webster]"Agar, the handmaiden of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither goest thou? The which answered, Fro the face of Sara my lady." [1913 Webster]
- A woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress; -- a feminine correlative of lord. Lowell. [1913 Webster]"Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, . . .
We make thee lady." [1913 Webster] - A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a sweetheart. [1913 Webster]"The soldier here his wasted store supplies,
And takes new valor from his lady's eyes." [1913 Webster] - A woman of social distinction or position. In England, a title prefixed to the name of any woman whose husband is not of lower rank than a baron, or whose father was a nobleman not lower than an earl. The wife of a baronet or knight has the title of Lady by courtesy, but not by right. [1913 Webster]
- A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman; -- the feminine correlative of
gentleman . [1913 Webster] - A wife; -- not now in approved usage. Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]
- Any woman; as, a lounge for ladies; a cleaning lady; also used in combination; as, saleslady. [PJC]
- The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster; -- so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure. It consists of calcareous plates. [1913 Webster]
lady, a.
Belonging or becoming to a lady; ladylike. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
lady, n. (pl. -ies)
1 a a woman regarded as being of superior social status or as having the refined manners associated with this (cf. GENTLEMAN). b (Lady) a title used by peeresses, female relatives of peers, the wives and widows of knights, etc.
2 (often attrib.) a woman; a female person or animal (ask that lady over there; lady butcher; lady dog).
3 colloq. a a wife. b a man's girlfriend.
4 a ruling woman (lady of the house; lady of the manor).
5 (in pl. as a form of address) a female audience or the female part of an audience.
6 hist. a woman to whom a man, esp. a knight, is chivalrously devoted; a mistress.
1 a a woman regarded as being of superior social status or as having the refined manners associated with this (cf. GENTLEMAN). b (Lady) a title used by peeresses, female relatives of peers, the wives and widows of knights, etc.
2 (often attrib.) a woman; a female person or animal (ask that lady over there; lady butcher; lady dog).
3 colloq. a a wife. b a man's girlfriend.
4 a ruling woman (lady of the house; lady of the manor).
5 (in pl. as a form of address) a female audience or the female part of an audience.
6 hist. a woman to whom a man, esp. a knight, is chivalrously devoted; a mistress.
Idiom
find the lady = three-card trick. the Ladies (or Ladies') Brit. a women's public lavatory. ladies' chain a figure in a quadrille etc. ladies' fingers = OKRA (cf. lady's finger). Ladies' Gallery a public gallery in the House of Commons, reserved for women. ladies' (or lady's) man a man fond of female company; a seducer. ladies' night a function at a men's club etc. to which women are invited. ladies' room a women's lavatory in a hotel, office, etc. Lady altar the altar in a Lady chapel. Lady Bountiful a patronizingly generous lady of the manor etc. (a character in Farquhar's The Beaux' Stratagem). Lady chapel a chapel in a large church or cathedral, usu. to the E. of the high altar, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Lady Day the Feast of the Annunciation, 25 Mar. lady-fern a slender fern, Athyrium filix-femina. lady-in-waiting a lady attending a queen or princess. lady-killer a practised and habitual seducer. lady-love a man's sweetheart. Lady Mayoress the wife of a Lord Mayor. Lady Muck sl. derog. a socially pretentious woman. lady of the bedchamber = lady-in-waiting. lady of easy virtue a sexually promiscuous woman; a prostitute. lady's bedstraw a yellow-flowered herbaceous plant, Galium verum. lady's companion a roll containing cottons etc. lady's finger
1 = kidney vetch.
2 = LADYFINGER (cf. ladies' fingers). lady's maid a lady's personal maidservant. lady's mantle any rosaceous plant of the genus Alchemilla with yellowish-green clustered flowers. lady-smock = cuckoo flower 1. lady's slipper any orchidaceous plant of the genus Cypripedium, with a usu. yellow slipper-shaped lip on its flowers. lady's tresses any white-flowered orchid of the genus Spiranthes. Lady Superior the head of a convent or nunnery in certain orders. my lady a form of address used chiefly by servants etc. to holders of the title 'Lady'. my lady wife joc. my wife.
old lady colloq.
1 a mother.
2 a wife or mistress. Our Lady the Virgin Mary.
1 = kidney vetch.
2 = LADYFINGER (cf. ladies' fingers). lady's maid a lady's personal maidservant. lady's mantle any rosaceous plant of the genus Alchemilla with yellowish-green clustered flowers. lady-smock = cuckoo flower 1. lady's slipper any orchidaceous plant of the genus Cypripedium, with a usu. yellow slipper-shaped lip on its flowers. lady's tresses any white-flowered orchid of the genus Spiranthes. Lady Superior the head of a convent or nunnery in certain orders. my lady a form of address used chiefly by servants etc. to holders of the title 'Lady'. my lady wife joc. my wife.
old lady colloq.
1 a mother.
2 a wife or mistress. Our Lady the Virgin Mary.
Derivative
ladyhood n.
Etymology
OE hl{aelig}fdige f. hlaf LOAF(1) + (unrecorded) dig- knead, rel. to DOUGH): in Lady Day etc. f. OE genit. hl{aelig}fdigan (Our) Lady's
THESAURUS
lady
Dulcinea, Eve, Frau, Fraulein, Miss, Mistress, Mlle, Mme, Mmes, acceptable person, archduchess, baroness, best girl, better half, capital fellow, common-law wife, concubine, countess, dame, daughter of Eve, diamond, distaff, domina, dona, donna, dowager, dream girl, duchess, faithful, feme, feme covert, femme, frow, galantuomo, gem, gentilhomme, gentleman, gentlewoman, gill, girl, girl friend, good fellow, good lot, good man, good person, good sort, good woman, goodwife, goody, grand duchess, helpmate, helpmeet, honest man, honest woman, inamorata, jewel, jill, jo, khanum, lady love, lass, lassie, madam, madame, mademoiselle, man of honor, marchioness, margravine, married woman, matron, mem-sahib, mensch, mesdames, milady, mistress, noblewoman, old lady, old woman, pearl, peeress, perfect gentleman, perfect lady, persona grata, prince, real lady, real man, rib, right sort, rough diamond, senhora, senhorita, signora, signorina, squaw, straight shooter, true blue, truepenny, trusty, viscountess, vrouw, wahine, weaker vessel, wedded wife, wife, woman, woman of honor, worthyROGET THESAURUS
lady
Nobility
N nobility, rank, condition, distinction, optimacy, blood, pur sang, birth, high descent, order, quality, gentility, blue blood of Castile, ancien regime, high life, haute monde, upper classes, upper ten thousand, the four hundred, elite, aristocracy, great folks, fashionable world, peer, peerage, house of lords, house of peers, lords, lords temporal and spiritual, noblesse, noble, nobleman, lord, lordling, grandee, magnifico, hidalgo, daimio, daimyo, samurai, shizoku, don, donship, aristocrat, swell, three- tailed bashaw, gentleman, squire, squireen, patrician, laureate, gentry, gentlefolk, squirarchy, better sort magnates, primates, optimates, pantisocracy, king, atheling, prince, duke, marquis, marquisate, earl, viscount, baron, thane, banneret, baronet, baronetcy, knight, knighthood, count, armiger, laird, signior, seignior, esquire, boyar, margrave, vavasour, emir, ameer, scherif, sharif, effendi, wali, sahib, chevalier, maharaja, nawab, palsgrave, pasha, rajah, waldgrave, princess, begum, duchess, marchioness, countess, lady, dame, memsahib, Do$a, maharani, rani, personage of distinction, man of distinction, personage of rank, man of rank, personage of mark, man of mark, notables, notabilities, celebrity, bigwig, magnate, great man, star, superstar, big bug, big gun, great gun, gilded rooster, magni nominis umbra, every inch a king, noble, exalted, of rank, princely, titled, patrician, aristocratic, high-, well-born, of gentle blood, genteel, comme il faut, gentlemanlike, courtly, highly respectable, in high quarters, Adel sitzt im Gemuthe nicht im Gebluete, adelig und edel sind zweierlei, noblesse oblige.Marriage
N marriage, matrimony, wedlock, union, intermarriage, miscegenation, the bonds of marriage, vinculum matrimonii, nuptial tie, married state, coverture, bed, cohabitation, match, betrothment, wedding, nuptials, Hymen, bridal, espousals, spousals, leading to the altar, nuptial benediction, epithalamium, sealing, torch of Hymen, temple of Hymen, hymeneal altar, honeymoon, bridesmaid, bridesman, best man, bride, bridegroom, married man, married woman, married couple, neogamist, Benedict, partner, spouse, mate, yokemate, husband, man, consort, baron, old man, good man, wife of one's bosom, helpmate, rib, better half, gray mare, old woman, old lady, good wife, goodwife, feme, feme coverte, squaw, lady, matron, matronage, matronhood, man and wife, wedded pair, Darby and Joan, spiritual wife, monogamy, bigamy, digamy, deuterogamy, trigamy, polygamy, mormonism, levirate, spiritual wifery, spiritual wifeism, polyandrism, Turk, bluebeard, unlawful marriage, left-handed marriage, morganatic marriage, ill- assorted marriage, mesalliance, mariage de convenance, marriage broker, matrimonial agency, matrimonial agent, matrimonial bureau, matchmaker, schatchen, married, one, one bone and one flesh, marriageable, nubile, engaged, betrothed, affianced, matrimonial, marital, conjugal, connubial, wedded, nuptial, hymeneal, spousal, bridal, the gray mare the better horse, a world-without-end bargain, marriages are made in Heaven, render me worthy of this noble wife, si qua voles apte nubere nube pari.Woman
N woman, she, her, female, petticoat, feminality, muliebrity, womanhood, womankind, the sex, the fair, fair sex, softer sex, weaker vessel, dame, madam, madame, mistress, Mrs, lady, donna belle, matron, dowager, goody, gammer, Frau, frow, Vrouw, rani, good woman, good wife, squaw, wife, matronage, matronhood, bachelor girl, new woman, feminist, suffragette, suffragist, nymph, wench, grisette, girl, sissy, betty, cot betty, cotquean, henhussy, mollycoddle, muff, old woman, hen, bitch, sow, doe, roe, mare, she goat, Nanny goat, tabita, ewe, cow, lioness, tigress, vixen, gynecaeum, estrogen, oestrogen, consanguinity &c, paternity, lesbian, dyke, female, she-, feminine, womanly, ladylike, matronly, maidenly, wifely, womanish, effeminate, unmanly, gynecic, gynaecic, Pron, she, her, hers, ', a perfect woman nobly planned, a lovely lady garmented in white, das Ewig-Weibliche zieht uns hinan, earth's noblest thing, a woman perfected, es de vidrio la mujer, she moves a goddess and she looks a queen, the beauty of a lovely woman is like music, varium et mutabile semper femina, woman is the lesser man.Also see definition of "lady" in Bible Study Dictionaries
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