a woman of refinement or superior social position
used in courteous or formal reference: a woman
(Lady) a title given to a marchioness, countess, viscountess, baroness, or to the wife of a knight, baronet, or member of the peerage
dated a wife
the captain and his lady
formerly, a woman receiving the homage or devotion of a knight or lover
My Lady
used as a form of address to women judges and noblewomen
Old English hlǣfdīge, from hlāf bread + -dīge, related to dǣge kneader of bread; compare with lord1. In origin, lady (a compound peculiar to English, and literally meaning ‘kneader of bread’) was the female counterpart of lord (‘keeper of bread’), and in Old English the word was applied to the female head of a household or a female ruler. By the 13th cent. its meaning had extended to any woman of superior social position, the female counterpart of gentleman, and it was thus distinguished from the more general term woman