Definition of 'lady'
Word forms: plural ladies
1. countable noun
You can use lady when you are referring to a woman, especially when you are showing politeness or respect.
2. See also old lady
4. countable noun
5. title noun
6. countable noun
8. countable noun
9. See also first lady, Our Lady
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
lady in British English
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English hlǣfdīge, from hlāf bread + dīge kneader, related to dāh dough
Word Frequency
Lady in British English
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
lady in American English
nounWord forms: plural ˈladies
3.
a woman of high social position
4.
a woman who is polite, refined, and well-mannered
5.
any woman
a polite term, esp. as (in pl.) a form of address7. [L-]
8.
this title as a form of address for a woman holding the title Lady, now used only by servants, salespeople, etc.
preceded by My adjective
11. Informal
female
a lady barber
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈwoman
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
lady in American English
(ˈleidi) (noun plural -dies)
noun
1.
a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken
She was a real lady, as you can see in interviews with her
2.
She was born a lady and found it hard to adjust to her reduced circumstances
3. (sometimes used in combination)
any woman; female
the lady who answered the phone
a saleslady
4.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome
Lady, out of my way, please
5.
wife
The ambassador and his lady arrived late
7. (cap) Brit
8. Compare lord (sense 4)
9. (cap)
the Virgin Mary
11. (usually cap)
a.
an attribute or abstraction personified as a woman; a designation of an allegorical figure as feminine
Lady Fortune
Lady Virtue
adjective
USAGE 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 sometimes found in phrases or compounds referring to occupation or the like
(cleaning lady; saleslady), this use is often regarded as unacceptable. The use of lady as a modifier (lady doctor; lady artist) suggests that it is unusual to find a woman in the role specified and so is considered
offensive. It is preferable to use gender-neutral terms when referring to a performer
or practitioner. Person or a gender-neutral term can be substituted for lady, as cleaner for cleaning lady, and salesperson or salesclerk for saleslady. When circumstances make it relevant to specify gender, female can be used: Male doctors outnumber female doctors on the hospital staff by more than three to
one. See also -person, -womanSYNONYMS See woman12. sometimes offensive
being a lady; female
a lady reporter
13.
of a lady; ladylike; feminine
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
ladyhood noun
ladyish
adjective
ladyishly
adverb
ladyishness
noun
ladyless
adjective
Word origin
[bef. 900; ME ladi(e), earlier lavedi, OE hlǣfdīge, hlǣfdige, perh. orig. meaning “loaf-kneader,” equiv. to hlāf loaf + -dīge, -dige, var. of dǣge kneader (see dough; cf. ON deigja maid); see lord]Examples of 'lady' in a sentence
lady
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In other languages
lady
British English: lady
/ˈleɪdɪ/ NOUN
You can use lady when you are referring to a woman, especially when you are showing politeness or respect. Some women dislike this use.
- American English: lady /ˈleɪdi/
- Arabic: سَيِّدَةٌ
- Brazilian Portuguese: senhora
- Chinese: 女士
- Croatian: dama
- Czech: paní
- Danish: dame
- Dutch: dame
- European Spanish: dama
- Finnish: aatelisnainen
- French: dame
- German: Dame
- Greek: κυρία
- Italian: signora
- Japanese: 婦人
- Korean: 숙녀
- Norwegian: dame
- Polish: dama
- European Portuguese: senhora
- Romanian: doamnă
- Russian: леди
- Latin American Spanish: dama
- Swedish: dam kvinna
- Thai: สุภาพสตรี
- Turkish: leydi
- Ukrainian: леді
- Vietnamese: quý bà
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lady
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