the.com/lady
A title that climbed from breadmaker to bloodline, then to anyone with manners.
means A polite or formal word for a woman, sometimes a noble title, and often a courteous substitute for simply saying 'woman'.
from From Old English hlǣfdige, a compound of hlāf 'loaf, bread' and a second element related to dīge 'kneader' — literally 'the loaf-kneader,' the mistress of a household who oversaw the bread. (Its counterpart 'lord' is hlāfweard, 'loaf-guardian'.) Over centuries the rough edges wore off through sound change until 'loaf-kneader' smoothed into the single soft syllable 'lady,' rising in status as it shrank in form.
- old root
- From Old English hlaefdige, meaning loaf-kneader
- counterpart
- Lord meant loaf-guardian, the bread's bodyguard
- insect honor
- Ladybug named for the Virgin Mary
- social rise
- Once strictly noble, now a polite default
- first lady
- American term coined in the 1800s press
lady gaga — stefani germanotta, born 1986, american pop star who adopted the stage name
our lady of guadalupe — marian apparition reported in mexico city in 1531, venerated by millions
lady macbeth — shakespeare character in macbeth who urges her husband to murder the king