lad

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /læd/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like lead /ɛ/ vs /æ/ Sounds like rad /l/ vs /r/

Freq #3081

Meanings

1

noun
A boy or young man.

He was just a young lad when he started working on the farm.
2

noun
A friendly way of addressing a boy or young man.

Come here, lad, and help me move these boxes.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a boy or young man. chap

Word family

Forms lads

Derived forms feller-me-ladfellermeladfellow-me-ladfollow-me-ladgoodladladdieladdishladdismladdockladdyladetteladhood

Related forms lass lassie

Simplified etymology

Lad appeared in Middle English, but its earlier origin is unknown. By the mid-16th century it could specifically mean a boisterous or spirited young man.

Etymology

From Middle English ladde (“foot soldier, servant; male commoner; boy”), from late Old English *ladda (attested in Old English personal byname Ladda), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse ladd (“hose, woolen stocking; sock”), which may have undergone semantic shift to mean a term of abuse (e.g. foolish youth, youngster of lower social status, etc.); thence by connotative amelioration coming to mean any young fellow. Compare Norwegian ladd (“rough sock, woolen or felt slipper”) and the -ladd in compounds Askeladd/Askeladden (a nickname in fairy tales, "Ash Lad") and tusseladd (“…

ladde Middle English *ladda Old English ladd Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# lad

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /læd/
**Frequency rank:** 3081

## Meanings
1. A boy or young man.
2. A friendly way of addressing a boy or young man.

## Examples
- He was just a young lad when he started working on the farm.
- Come here, lad, and help me move these boxes.

## Derived Forms
- feller-me-lad
- fellermelad
- fellow-me-lad
- follow-me-lad
- goodlad
- laddie
- laddish
- laddism
- laddock
- laddy
- ladette
- ladhood

## Related Forms
- lass
- lassie

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ladde
- Root: *ladda
- Root: ladd

## Etymology
From Middle English ladde (“foot soldier, servant; male commoner; boy”), from late Old English *ladda (attested in Old English personal byname Ladda), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse ladd (“hose, woolen stocking; sock”), which may have undergone semantic shift to mean a term of abuse (e.g. foolish youth, youngster of lower social status, etc.); thence by connotative amelioration coming to mean any young fellow. Compare Norwegian ladd (“rough sock, woolen or felt slipper”) and the -ladd in compounds Askeladd/Askeladden (a nickname in fairy tales, "Ash Lad") and tusseladd (“…

## AI Etymology
Lad comes from Middle English ladde (“foot soldier, servant; male commoner; boy”), from late Old English *ladda (attested in Old English personal byname Ladda), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse ladd (“hose, woolen stocking; sock”), which may have undergone semantic shift to mean a term of abuse (e.g. foolish youth, youngster of lower social status, etc.); thence by connotative amelioration coming to mean any young fellow. The historical chain includes ladde (Middle English), *ladda (Old English), and ladd (Old Norse). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as feller-me-lad, fellermelad, fellow-me-lad, and follow-me-lad and related forms such as lass and lassie. In present use it covers a boy or young man and a friendly way of addressing a boy or young man.

## Topics
- People & Society

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lad