Lady

"My Lady" redirects here. For other uses, seeMilady (disambiguation)andLady (disambiguation).

"Gentlelady" redirects here. Not to be confused withGentlewoman.

Ladyis a term for awomanwho behaves in apoliteway.Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart oflord,now it may refer to any adult woman, asgentlemancan be used for men.

"Lady" is also a formaltitle in the United Kingdom."Lady" is used before thefamily nameorpeerageof a woman with a title ofnobilityor honorary titlesuo jure(in her own right), such as female members of theOrder of the GarterandOrder of the Thistle,or the wife of a lord, abaronet,Scottishfeudal baron,laird,or aknight,and also before the first name of the daughter of aduke,marquess,orearl.

Etymology

The word comes fromOld Englishhlǣfdige;the first part of the word is a mutated form ofhlāf,"loaf,bread",also seen in the correspondinghlāford,"lord". The second part is usually taken to be from the rootdig-,"to knead", seen also indough;the sense development from bread-kneader, or bread-maker, or bread-shaper, to the ordinary meaning, though not clearly to be traced historically, may be illustrated by that of "lord".

Usage

John William Waterhouse'sThe Lady of Shalott,1888 (Tate Gallery,London, England)

The primary meaning of "mistress of a household" is now mostly obsolete,save for the term "landlady"and inset phrasessuch as "the lady of the house". This meaning is retained in thesouthern states of the United States.In some contexts "lady" is synonymous with the old-fashioned word "gentlewoman",meaning someone of high social status by birth and upbringing, but not necessarily titled. The term is also used in titles such asfirst ladyandlady mayoress,the wives of elected or appointed officials.

In manyEuropean languagesthe equivalent term serves as a generalform of addressequivalent to the EnglishMrs(FrenchMadame,SpanishSeñora,ItalianSignora,GermanFrau,PolishPani,etc.). In those languages it is correct to address a woman whose name is unknown asMadame,Señora,etc., but in polite English usage "lady" has for centuries only normally been a term of address in the plural,which is also the case for "gentleman".The singularvocativeuse (i.e. to address someone directly) was once common but has become mostly confined to poetry.Insome dialectsit may still be used to address an unknown woman in a brusque manner, often in an imperative or interrogatory context, analogous to "mister"for an unknown male: e.g.," Hey, lady, you aren't allowed in here! "In this usage, the word "lady" is very seldom capitalized when written. The usual English term for politely addressing a woman ismadamor its abbreviationma'am.

In English, relatively fewjob titles are un-gendered.Some names for jobs are gender-neutral, e.g.mail carrier(postal worker), but where there is a common word with a -man suffix, sometimes -lady may be used as an equivalent, e.g. postman and (sometimes) postlady. Using "lady" in professional job titles which had previously been male preserves fell out of favour withsecond-wave feminism(lady doctor, lady engineer, lady judge), though lady doctor is sometimes used by a healthcare receptionist when booking an appointment at a group practice health centre so that the situation is clear to the patient.It is still used in some other occupations, to give dignity and express respect to less skilled work such astea ladiesin offices and hospitals,lunch ladies(or dinner ladies) in school canteens,cleaning ladiesin private homes and in business premises, and healthcare ladies for femalehealthcare assistants.

Both British and American commentators noted the shifting uses of "lady" in the mid-twentieth century. The American journalistWilliam Allen Whitenoted one of the difficulties in his 1946 autobiography. He relates that a woman who had paid a fine for prostitution came to his newspaper to protest, not against the fact that her conviction had been reported, but that the newspaper had referred to her as a "woman" rather than a "lady". After the incident, White assured his readers, his papers referred to human females as "women", with the exception ofpolice courtcharacters, who were all "ladies". The British historianNancy Mitfordwrote an influential essay in 1954, "U vs. non-U",in which she noted theclass distinctions:lower classwomen strongly preferred to be called "ladies", while those from higher social backgrounds were content to be identified as "women". Commenting on the word in 1953,C. S. Lewiswrote that "the guard atHollowaysaid it was aladies'prison! "The term" a bag lady "(vagabond) is aeuphemismfor a woman who has fallen on hard times; a "lady of the night" is a polite term for aprostitute.

InBritish English,"lady" is often, but not always, simply a courteous synonym for "woman".Public toiletsare often distinguished by signs showing simply "Ladies" or "Gentlemen". "Lady" can have a formal and respectful quality, being used to describe an elderly woman as "an old lady" or when speaking about a woman to a child (e.g. "Give the money to the lady." ) It remains in use as a counterpart to "gentleman", in the plural phrase "ladies and gentlemen",and is generally interchangeable (in a strictly informal sense) with" woman "(as in," The lady at the store said I could return this item within thirty days "). However, some women, since the rise of second-wave feminism, have objected to the term used in contexts such as the last example, arguing that the term sounds patronising and outdated when used in this way; a man in the same context would not necessarily be referred to as a" gentleman ". Onefeminist proponent of language reform,Robin Lakoff,in her bookLanguage and Woman's Place(1975), notably raised the issue of the ways in which "lady" is not used as the counterpart of "gentleman". It is suggested by academicElizabeth Reid Boydthat feminist usage of the word "lady" has beenreclaimedin the 21st century.

British titles

Formally, "Lady" is the female counterpart tohigher ranks in society,from gentlemen, through knights, to peers of the realm. During theMiddle Ages,princesses or daughters of theblood royalwere usually known by their first names with "Lady" prefixed, e.g.The Lady Elizabeth;sinceOld EnglishandMiddle Englishdid not have a female equivalent to princes orearlsor other royals or nobles. Aside from the queen, women of royal and noble status simply carried the title of "Lady".

As a title of nobility, the uses of "lady" in Britain are parallel to those of "lord". It is thus a less formal alternative to the full title giving the specific rank, ofmarchioness,countess,viscountessorbaroness,whether as the title of the husband's rank by right or courtesy, or as the lady's title in her own right.A peeress's title is used with thedefinite article:Lord Morris's wife is "the Lady Morris". A widow's title derived from her husband becomes thedowager,e.g.The Dowager Lady Smith.In the case of an heir apparent to a peerage using one of his father's subsidiary titles by courtesy, his wife uses his courtesy title in the same way as the wife of a substantive peer, except that the definite article is not used.

The title "Lady" is also used for a woman who is the wife of a Scottishfeudal baronorlaird,the title "Lady" preceding the name of the barony or lairdship.In the case of younger sons of adukeormarquess,who have thecourtesy title"Lord" prefixed to their given and family name, the wife may use "Lady" prefixed to the husband's given and family names, e.g.Lady John Smith.However, she may not use "Lady" prefixed to her husband's surname alone. Neither may she use the title prefixed to her own given name unless entitled to do so by her own birth as the daughter of an earl, marquess or duke.

The daughters of dukes, marquesses and earls are by courtesy "ladies"; here, that title is prefixed to the given and family name of the lady, e.g.Lady Jane Smith,and this is preserved if the lady marries acommoner,e.g.Mr John and Lady Jane Smith."Lady" is also the customary title of the wife of abaronetorknight,but in this case without Christian name: "Lady" with the surname of the husband only,Sir John and Lady Smith.When a woman divorces a knight and he marries again, the new wife will beLady Smithwhile the ex-wife becomesJane, Lady Smithuntil either her own death or until she remarries.

Female members of theOrder of the GarterandOrder of the Thistlewho do not hold a higher style also receive the prefix of "Lady"; here that title is prefixed to the given and family name of the lady, e.g.LadyMarion Fraser,LT,with thepost nominalLG or LT, respectively, and this is preserved if the lady marries.

Other meanings

The special use of the word as atitleof theVirgin Mary,usuallyOur Lady,represents theLatinDomina Nostra.InLady DayandLady Chapel,the word is properly agenitive,representinghlǣfdigan"of the Lady".

The word is also used as a title of theWiccanGoddess,The Lady.

Margaret Thatcherwas informally referred to in the same way by many of her political colleagues whenPrime Minister of Great Britain.Her husband was later created a baronet, thus making her "Lady Thatcher" as of right. After she retired, she was given a barony as Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire, and was thereafter known as "The Lady Thatcher".

Elsewhere in theCommonwealth,the word is used in a similar fashion to aristocratic usage in Britain. In Ghana, for example, the consort of theAsanteheneof theAshanti peopleis known asLady Julia Osei Tutu.In Nigeria, theYorubaaristocratsKofoworola, Lady AdemolaandOyinkansola, Lady Abayomimade use of the title due to their being the wives of British knights.

See also

• Girl
• Dame,a title parallel to Sir

References

• Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage(Merriam-Webster, 1989),ISBN0-87779-132-5.
• Lakoff, Robin.Language and Woman's Place(New York, Harper & Row, 1975).ISBN0-19-516757-0.