lady Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a polite name for any woman
- a nice lady at the library helped me
noun a woman of refinement
gentlewoman; madam; ma'am; dame.
- a chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady
noun a woman of the peerage in Britain
noblewoman; peeress.

OE. ladi, læfdi, AS. hlfdige, hlfdie; AS. hlaf loaf + a root of uncertain origin, possibly akin to E. dairy. See Loaf, and cf. Lord.

plural Ladies

A woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family; a mistress; the female head of a household.
Agar, the handmaiden of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither goest thou? The which answered, Fro the face of Sara my lady. Wyclif (Gen. xvi. 8.).
A woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress; -- a feminine correlative of lord. "Lord or lady of high degree." Lowell.
Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, . . . We make thee lady. Shak.
A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a sweetheart.
The soldier here his wasted store supplies, And takes new valor from his lady's eyes. Waller.
A woman of social distinction or position. In England, a title prefixed to the name of any woman whose husband is not of lower rank than a baron, or whose father was a nobleman not lower than an earl. The wife of a baronet or knight has the title of Lady by courtesy, but not by right.
A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman; -- the feminine correlative of gentleman.
A wife; -- not now in approved usage. Goldsmith.
(Zoöl.) The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster; -- so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure. It consists of calcareous plates.