lady

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈleɪ.di/ UK /ˈleɪ.di/ See IPA manual

Freq #471

Meanings

1

noun
A polite word for a woman.

A nice lady at the library helped me.
2

noun
A polite way to address or refer to women, especially in a group.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today.
3

noun
A woman who behaves with good manners and refinement, or one of high social class.

A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · a woman who behaves with... dame

Word family

Forms ladies

Derived forms barladybeladybyrladychairladycharladycumberladyelf-ladyforeladygaydyladifyladilyladiness

Related forms lord

Appears in

Phrases (4)

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a young lady
a girl or young woman, often used as a polite or formal form of address

Adjective + noun
an old lady
an elderly woman

Adjective + noun
an elderly lady
a polite way of referring to an older woman

Adjective + noun
lady slipper
an orchid whose flower has a pouch shaped like a small shoe

Noun + noun

Proverbs (5)

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Simplified etymology

Lady developed from Old English hlafdige, whose literal sense was “kneader of bread.” Its first element is an early form of loaf, while its second is related to a word meaning “knead.” In Anglo-Saxon society, the term referred to the woman who governed a household and oversaw the making of its staple food.

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”) + dǣġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.

*dʰeyǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European lady Middle English hlǣfdīġe Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# lady

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈleɪ.di/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈleɪ.di/
**Frequency rank:** 471

## Meanings
1. A polite word for a woman.
2. A polite way to address or refer to women, especially in a group.
3. A woman who behaves with good manners and refinement, or one of high social class.

## Examples
- A nice lady at the library helped me.
- Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today.
- A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.

## Derived Forms
- barlady
- belady
- byrlady
- chairlady
- charlady
- cumberlady
- elf-lady
- forelady
- gaydy
- ladify
- ladily
- ladiness

## Related Forms
- lord

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *dʰeyǵʰ-
- Root: lady
- Root: hlǣfdīġe

## 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”) + dǣġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.

## AI Etymology
Lady comes 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. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. The historical line also includes *dʰeyǵʰ-.

## Topics
- People & Society

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