■ noun ( plural ladies )
1》 (in polite or formal use) a woman.
2》 a woman of superior social position.
↘( Lady ) (in the UK) a title used by peeresses, female relatives of peers, the wives and widows of knights, etc.
↘a courteous or genteel woman.
3》 ( one's ~ ) dated a man's wife.
↘ historical a woman to whom a knight is chivalrously devoted.
4》 ( the Ladies ) Brit. a women's public toilet.
Phrases
find the ~ another term for three-card trick .
it isn't over till the fat ~ sings there is still time for a situation to change. [by assoc. with the final aria in tragic opera.]
Lady Muck see muck .
My Lady a polite form of address to female judges and certain noblewomen.
Derivatives
~hood noun
Word History
The forerunner of the word ~ in Old English was hlfdīge , meaning the female head of a household, or a woman to whom homage or obedience was due, such as the wife of a lord or, specifically, the Virgin Mary. The word came from hlāf 'loaf' and a Germanic base meaning 'knead' which is related to dough and dairy ; thus a ~ was a ‘loaf kneader’. The word lord developed in a similar way; in Old English it literally meant 'bread keeper'.