Definitions for Lady
ˈleɪ dila·dy

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. ladynoun

   a polite name for any woman

   "a nice lady at the library helped me"

2. dame, madam, ma'am, lady, gentlewomannoun

   a woman of refinement

   "a chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady"

3. Lady, noblewoman, peeressnoun

   a woman of the peerage in Britain

GCIDERate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Ladynoun

   Hence: Any woman; as, a lounge for ladies; a cleaning lady; also used in combination; as, saleslady.

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ladynoun

   The mistress of a household.

2. ladynoun

   A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.

   "I would like the dining room to be fully set by tonight; would you do so?" "Yes, my lady".

3. ladynoun

   The feminine of lord.

4. ladynoun

   A title for someone married to a lord.

5. ladynoun

   A title for somebody married to a gentleman.

6. ladynoun

   A title that can be used instead of the formal terms of marchioness, countess, viscountess or baroness.

7. ladynoun

   A polite term referring to a woman.

   Please direct this lady to the soft furnishings department.

8. ladynoun

   (ladies; in plural only) A polite form of address to women

9. ladynoun

   (ladies' or ladies) Toilets intended for use by women.

10. ladynoun

    An affectionate term for one's wife or girlfriend.

    But soft, what light through yonder window breaks...? It is my lady, O it is my love! -Romeo and Juliet

11. ladynoun

    a queen (the playing card)

12. ladynoun

    (attributive) (with a professional title) Who is a woman.

    A lady doctor.

13. Ladynoun

    An aristocratic title for a woman; the wife of a lord and/or a woman who holds the position in her own right; a title for a peeress, the wife of a peer or knight, and the daughters and daughters-in-law of certain peers.

14. Ladynoun

    Lady Amherst's pheasant.

    "I would like the dining room to be fully set by tonight; would you do so?" "Yes, my lady".

15. Ladynoun

    A high priestess

16. Ladynoun

    The title for the (primary) female deity in female-centered religions

    My Lady, will you not take pity on me?

17. Ladynoun

    The major supernatural figurehead in the Wiccan religion, a triune goddess split into the Mother, Maiden, and Crone.

18. Etymology: From lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from hlæfdige, from hlaf + dige, related to dæge. Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. LADYnoun

   Etymology: hlæfdig ,Saxon.

   1. A woman of high rank: the title of lady properly belongs to the wives of knights, of all degrees above them, and to the daughters of earls, and all of higher ranks.

   I am much afraid, my lady, his mother, play’d false with a smith. William Shakespeare, Merch. of Verona.

   I would thy husband were dead; I would make thee my lady.
   ———— I your lady, Sir John? alas, I should be a pitiful lady. William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor.

   I am sorry my relation to so deserving a lady, should be any occasion of her danger and affliction. Charles I .

   2. An illustrious or eminent woman.

   O foolish fairy’s son, what fury mad
   Hath thee incens’d to haste thy doleful fate?
   Were it not better I that lady had,
   Than that thou hadst repented it too late? Fairy Qu.

   I love and hate her; for she’s fair and royal,
   And that she hath all courtly parts more exquisite
   Than lady ladies; winning from each one
   The best she hath, and she of all compounded
   Out-sells them all. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.

   Before ’s time this great lady was scarce heard of. Ral.

   May every lady an Evadne prove,
   That shall divert me from Aspasia’s love. Edmund Waller.

   Shou’d I shun the dangers of the war,
   With scorn the Trojans wou’d reward my pains,
   And their proud ladies with their sweeping trains. Dryden.

   We find on medals the representations of ladies, that have given occasion to whole volumes on the account only of a face. Joseph Addison, on ancient Medals.

   Of all these bounds, even from this line to this,
   With shadowy forests, and with champaigns rich’d,
   With plenteous rivers, and wide-skirted meads,
   We make thee lady. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   3 . A word of complaisance used of women.

   Say, good Cæsar,
   That I some lady trifles have reserv’d,
   Immoment toys, things of such dignity
   As we greet modern friends withal. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cl.

   I hope I may speak of women without offence to the ladies. Guardian.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Ladynoun

   a woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family; a mistress; the female head of a household

2. Ladynoun

   a woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress; -- a feminine correlative of lord

3. Ladynoun

   a woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a sweetheart

4. Ladynoun

   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

5. Ladynoun

   a woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman; -- the feminine correlative of gentleman

6. Ladynoun

   a wife; -- not now in approved usage

7. Ladynoun

   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

8. Ladyadjective

   belonging or becoming to a lady; ladylike

9. Lady

   the day of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March 25. See Annunciation

10. Etymology: [OE. ladi, lfdi, AS. hlfdige, hlfdie; AS. hlf loaf + a root of uncertain origin, possibly akin to E. dairy. See Loaf, and cf. Lord.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lady

   The word lady is a civil term of respect for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to gentleman or lord, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman. Once confined to usage when specifically addressing women of high social class or status; over the last 300 years, the term has spread to embrace every adult woman.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lady

   lā′di, n. the mistress of a house: a wife: a title of the wives of knights, and all degrees above them, and of the daughters of earls and all higher ranks: a title of complaisance to any woman of refined manners:—pl. Ladies (lā′diz).—ns. Lā′dybird, a genus of little beetles, usually brilliant red or yellow—also Lā′dybug, Lā′dycow; Lā′dy-chap′el, a chapel dedicated to 'Our Lady,' the Virgin Mary, usually behind the high altar, at the extremity of the apse; Lā′dyday, the 25th March, the day of the Annunciation of the Virgin; Lā′dyfern, one of the prettiest varieties of British ferns, common in moist woods, with bipinnate fronds sometimes two feet long; Lā′dy-fly (same as Ladybird); Lā′dyhood, condition, character of a lady.—adj. Lā′dyish, having the airs of a fine lady.—ns. Lā′dyism, affectation of the airs of a fine lady; Lā′dy-kill′er, a man who fancies his fascinations irresistible to women: a general lover.—adj. Lā′dy-like, like a lady in manners: refined: soft, delicate.—ns. Lādy-love, a lady or woman loved: a sweetheart; Lādy's-bed′straw, the plant Galium verum; Lā′dy's-bow′er, the only British species of clematis—also Traveller's joy; Lā′dy's-fing′er, a name for many plants: a piece of confectionery; Lā′dyship, the title of a lady; Lā′dy's-maid, a female attendant on a lady, esp. in matters relating to the toilet; Lādy's-man′tle, a genus of herbaceous plants having small, yellowish-green flowers; Lā′dy's-slipp′er, a genus of orchidaceous plants, remarkable for the large inflated lip of the corolla; Lā′dy's-smock, the Bitter Cress, a meadow-plant, with whitish, blush-coloured flowers.—Ladies' companion, a small bag used for carrying women's work; Ladies' man, one fond of women's society.—My ladyship, Your ladyship, a form of expression used in speaking to, or of, one who has the rank of a lady. [A.S. hláf-dige—hláf, a loaf, dǽgee, a kneader, or=hláfweardige (i.e. loaf-keeper, see ward), and thus a contr. fem. of Lord.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. lady

   A polite word for a female adult

   The lady in the street says we are all beautiful and united in every way.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on May 15, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. lady

   Song lyrics by lady -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by lady on the Lyrics.com website.

2. LADY

   What does LADY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the LADY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. LADY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lady is ranked #23675 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Lady surname appeared 1,070 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Lady.
   
   90.6% or 970 total occurrences were White.
   3.7% or 40 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   2.2% or 24 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   1.6% or 18 total occurrences were Black.

Matched Categories

1. • Woman

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Lady' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1109

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Lady' in Written Corpus Frequency: #822

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Lady' in Nouns Frequency: #329

How to pronounce Lady?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Lady in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Lady in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Lady in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of Lady in a Sentence

1. Michelle Obama:

   As potentially the first African-American first lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations, conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others, was I too loud or too emasculating? Or was I too soft? Too much of a mom and not enough of a career woman?

2. Kate Andersen Brower:

   The first lady is the best surrogate you can get, especially when they can connect, like Jill Biden can, to bread and butter issues like education and child care, usually, first ladies have much higher approval ratings, so they can appeal to a broader audience than their husbands. They tend to be less polarizing because they usually do not weigh in on hot-button political issues.

3. Alison Willmore:

   That is one of the places where the star wattage can make a difference, lady Gaga is a music superstar and I would imagine Bette Midler hard core fans will be tuning in for Bette Midler.

4. Florine Gruen Goldfarb:

   I may be 76 going on 77 but I am not an old lady. I have been active in politics for 10 years. Worked on many campaigns. In between my hobby is dancing, such as line dancing, couple dancing such as cha-cha, west and East Coast swing dances.

5. Editor Curtis Houck:

   Her comments are absurd considering how long the first lady has lived in this country, regardless of one's views of the president, the first lady is an example of 'Only in America' could this be possible.

Popularity rank by frequency of use