lady

la·dy

L0013600 (lā′dē) n. pl. la·dies 1. A woman of high social standing or refinement, especially when viewed as dignified or well-mannered. 2. A woman who is the head of a household: Is the lady of the house at home? 3. a. A woman, especially when spoken of or to in a polite way: Ladies, may I show you to your table? b. Used as a form of address for a woman, often with sarcasm or irritation: Look, lady, I was ahead of you in line. 4. a. A woman who is the object of romantic or chivalrous love: a knight serving his lady. b. Informal A wife or girlfriend: a man kissing his lady at the airport. 5. A lady in waiting: the queen and her ladies. 6. Lady Chiefly British a. A general feminine title of nobility and other rank, specifically as the title for the wife or widow of a knight or baronet. b. Used as a form of address for a woman of high rank, especially for a marchioness, countess, viscountess, baroness, or baronetess. 7. Lady The Virgin Mary. Usually used with Our.

[Middle English, mistress of a household, from Old English hlǣfdige; see dheigh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: The word lady goes back to Old English and was traditionally used for a woman of social standing or rank. Perhaps because of the word's association with high society, today lady is most acceptable in parallel with gentleman, as in the sentences Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please! and At the opera for the first time, they were dazzled by all of the ladies in ball gowns and gentlemen in sharp tuxedos. This latter sentence was approved by 91 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2016 survey. By contrast, the sentence Nancy Brown will be the first lady to serve as chair of the committee was accepted by only 29 percent of the Panel, with many panelists commenting that the use of lady where woman would easily do can be taken as offensive. The degree to which lady is or isn't considered offensive has become dependent on context. When presented with a range of sentences using lady in formal and informal contexts with both male and female speakers, many members of the Panel stated that they found lady to be acceptable and inoffensive when used ironically or jocularly. · The use of lady as an attributive to modify another noun, as in the phrase lady doctor, is widely considered offensive. When the sex of the person is relevant, the preferred modifier is woman or female. See Usage Note at female.

lady

(ˈleɪdɪ) n, pl -dies1. a woman regarded as having the characteristics of a good family and high social position2. a. a polite name for a womanb. (as modifier): a lady doctor. 3. an informal name for wife4. lady of the house the female head of the household5. (Historical Terms) history a woman with proprietary rights and authority, as over a manor. Compare lord³[Old English hlǣfdīge, from hlāf bread + dīge kneader, related to dāh dough]

Lady

(ˈleɪdɪ) n, pl -dies1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in Britain) a title of honour borne by various classes of women of the peerage2. my lady a term of address to holders of the title Lady, used esp by servants3. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Our Lady a title of the Virgin Mary4. archaic an allegorical prefix for the personifications of certain qualities: Lady Luck. 5. chiefly Brit the term of address by which certain positions of respect are prefaced when held by women: Lady Chairman.

la•dy

(ˈleɪ di)

n., pl. -dies,
adj. n. 1. a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken. 2. a woman of high social position or economic class. 3. any woman; female (sometimes used in combination): the lady who answered the phone; a saleslady. 4. (used in direct address: often offensive in the singular): Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Lady, you're in my way. 5. wife: The ambassador and his lady arrived late. 6. Slang. a female lover or steady companion. 7. (cap.) (in Great Britain) the proper title of any woman whose husband is higher in rank than baronet or knight, or who is the daughter of a nobleman not lower than an earl, often given by courtesy to the wife of a baronet or knight. 8. a woman who has proprietary rights or authority, as over a manor; female feudal superior. Compare lord (def. 4). 9. (cap.) Mary ¹ (def. 1). 10. a woman who is the object of chivalrous devotion. 11. (usu. cap.) an attribute or abstraction personified as a woman: Lady Fortune; Lady Virtue. adj. 12. Sometimes Offensive. female: a lady reporter. [before 900; Middle English ladi(e), earlier lavedi, Old English hlǣfdīge, hlǣfdige, perhaps orig. meaning “loaf-kneader” <hlāf loaf¹] 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, humorous or similar contexts (Lady, spurn me not), this singular is now usu. perceived as rude or at least insensitive: Where do you want the new air conditioner, lady? Other uses that are commonly disliked include lady in compounds or phrases referring to occupation or position (cleaning lady; forelady; saleslady) and as a modifier (lady artist; lady doctor). Increasingly, sex-neutral terms replace lady (cleaner; supervisor; salesperson or salesclerk). When it is relevant to specify the sex of the performer or practitioner, woman rather than lady is used, the parallel term being man, or male and female are used as modifiers: I need a saleswoman;Male doctors outnumber female doctors on the hospital staff by three to one. See also -person, -woman. syn: See woman.

lady

buck party, stag party - A buck party, like a stag party, is one without ladies.
chatelaine - The lady or mistress of a household.
lady - From Old English hlaf, "loaf," and a Germanic base meaning "knead," it first literally meant "one who kneads bread."
madam - French, literally, "my lady."

woman

lady1. used as a noun

You usually refer to an adult female person as a woman /'wʊmən/.

His mother was a tall, dark-haired woman.

The plural of woman is women /'wɪmɪn/.

There were men and women working in the fields.

You can use lady as a polite way of referring to a woman, especially if the woman is present.

We had a visit from an American lady.There is a lady here who wants to speak to you.

Be Careful!
It is almost always better to refer to someone as an old lady or an elderly lady, rather than an 'old woman'.

I helped an old lady to carry her shopping.She is an elderly lady living on her own.

If you are addressing a group of women, you call them ladies, not 'women'.

Ladies, could I have your attention, please?Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.2. 'woman' and 'women' used as modifiers

Woman is sometimes used in front of other nouns.

She said that she would prefer to see a woman doctor.

You use women in front of plural nouns, not 'woman'.

Women drivers can get cheaper car insurance.

Be Careful!
Normally, you just refer to a female doctor, writer etc as a doctor or a writer. Only use woman doctor, woman writer etc if it is necessary to make it clear that you are referring to a woman.

See female - feminine

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	lady - a polite name for any woman; "a nice lady at the library helped me"begum - a Muslim woman of high rank in India or Pakistanadult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"
	2.	lady - a woman of refinement; "a chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady"gentlewoman, ma'am, madam, damegrande dame - a middle-aged or elderly woman who is stylish and highly respectedmadame - title used for a married Frenchwomanadult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"
	3.	Lady - a woman of the peerage in Britain noblewoman, peeressbaronage, peerage - the peers of a kingdom considered as a groupBritain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdombaroness - a noblewoman who holds the rank of baron or who is the wife or widow of a baroncountess - female equivalent of a count or earlduchess - the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own rightfemale aristocrat - a woman who is an aristocratlady-in-waiting - a lady appointed to attend to a queen or princessmarquise, marchioness - a noblewoman ranking below a duchess and above a countessMilady - an English noblewomannoble, nobleman, Lord - a titled peer of the realm

lady

noun1. gentlewoman, duchess, noble, dame, baroness, countess, aristocrat, viscountess, noblewoman, peeress Our governess was told to make sure we knew how to talk like English ladies.2. woman, female, girl, miss, maiden (archaic), maid (archaic), lass, damsel, lassie (informal) She's a very sweet old lady.

Translations

女士贵妇人夫人

lady

(ˈleidi) noun1. a more polite form of woman. Tell that child to stand up and let that lady sit down; The lady in the flower shop said that roses are expensive just now; Ladies' shoes are upstairs in this shop; (also adjective) a lady doctor.女士2. a woman of good manners and refined behaviour. Be quiet! Ladies do not shout in public.贵妇人3. in the United Kingdom, used as the title of, or a name for, a woman of noble rank. Sir James and Lady Brown; lords and ladies.夫人ˈladylike adjective like a lady in manners. She is too ladylike to swear.象贵妇人的ˈLadyship noun (with Her, ~Your etc) a word used in speaking to, or about, a woman with the title `Lady'. Thank you, Your Ladyship; Ask Her Ladyship for permission.夫人ˈladybird noun (American ˈladybug) a type of little round beetle, usually red with black spots. 瓢虫

lady's fingers

noun plural the long sticky green pods of a tropical plant, used as a vegetable. 黄秋葵

lady

→ 女士zhCN

Where is the ladies' room? (US)
Where is the ladies? (UK) → 哪儿有女厕所？

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Synonyms for lady

noun gentlewoman

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noun woman

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noun a polite name for any woman

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noun a woman of refinement

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noun a woman of the peerage in Britain

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