lady
[ ley-dee ]
/ ˈleɪ di /
noun, plural la·dies.
adjective
Sometimes Offensive.
being a female: a lady reporter.
of a lady; ladylike; feminine.
Origin of lady
usage note for lady
In the meanings “refined, polite woman” and “woman of high social position” the noun
lady is the parallel of
gentleman. As forms of address, both nouns are used in the plural (
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your cooperation ), but only
lady occurs in the singular. Except in chivalrous, literary, or similar contexts (
Lady, spurn me not ), this singular is now usually perceived as rude or at least insensitive:
Where do you want the new air conditioner, lady? Although
lady is still found in phrases or compounds referring to occupation or the like (
cleaning lady; saleslady ), this use seems to be diminishing. The use of
lady as a modifier (
lady doctor; lady artist ) suggests that it is unusual to find a woman in the role specified. Many women are offended by this use, and it too is becoming less common.
An approach that is increasingly followed is to avoid specifying the sex of the performer or practitioner. Person or a sex-neutral term can be substituted for lady, as cleaner for cleaning lady and sales associate or salesclerk for saleslady. When circumstances make it relevant to specify sex, woman rather than lady is used, the parallel term being man: Men doctors outnumber women doctors on the hospital staff by more than three to one. See also -person, -woman.
An approach that is increasingly followed is to avoid specifying the sex of the performer or practitioner. Person or a sex-neutral term can be substituted for lady, as cleaner for cleaning lady and sales associate or salesclerk for saleslady. When circumstances make it relevant to specify sex, woman rather than lady is used, the parallel term being man: Men doctors outnumber women doctors on the hospital staff by more than three to one. See also -person, -woman.
synonym study for lady
See
woman.
OTHER WORDS FROM lady
Words nearby lady
Example sentences from the Web for lady
British Dictionary definitions for lady (1 of 2)
lady
/ (ˈleɪdɪ) /
noun plural -dies
a woman regarded as having the characteristics of a good family and high social position
- a polite name for a woman
- (as modifier)a lady doctor
an informal name for wife
lady of the house
the female head of the household
Word Origin for lady
Old English
hlǣfdīge, from
hlāf bread +
dīge kneader, related to
dāh dough
British Dictionary definitions for lady (2 of 2)
Lady
/ (ˈleɪdɪ) /
noun plural -dies
(in Britain) a title of honour borne by various classes of women of the peerage
my lady
a term of address to holders of the title Lady, used esp by servants
Our Lady
a title of the Virgin Mary
archaic
an allegorical prefix for the personifications of certain qualities
Lady Luck
mainly British
the term of address by which certain positions of respect are prefaced when held by women
Lady Chairman