ˈleɪdɪ n. (pl. -ies) 1 a a
woman regarded as
being of
superior social status or as having
the refined manners associated
with this (cf. GENTLEMAN). b (Lady) a
title used by peeresses,
female relatives of peers, the
wives and widows of knights, etc. 2 (often attrib.) a woman; a female
person or
animal (ask
that lady
over there; lady
butcher; lady dog). 3 colloq. a a
wife. b a man's
girlfriend. 4 a
ruling woman (lady of the
house; lady of the manor). 5 (in pl. as a
form of address) a female
audience or the female
part of an audience. 6
hist. a woman to
whom a
man,
esp. a
knight, is chivalrously
devoted; a
mistress. øfind the lady = three-card
trick. the
Ladies (or Ladies')
Brit. a women's
public lavatory. ladies'
chain a
figure in a quadrille etc. ladies' fingers =
OKRA (cf. lady's finger). Ladies'
Gallery a public gallery in the House of
Commons,
reserved for women. ladies' (or lady's) man a man
fond of female
company; a seducer. ladies'
night a
function at a men's
club etc. to
which women are invited. ladies'
room a women's lavatory in a
hotel,
office, etc. Lady
altar the altar in a Lady
chapel. Lady
Bountiful a patronizingly
generous lady of the
manor etc. (a
character in Farquhar's The Beaux' Stratagem). Lady chapel a chapel in a
large church or
cathedral, usu. to the E. of the
high altar, dedicated to the
Virgin Mary. Lady
Day the
Feast of the
Annunciation, 25
Mar. lady-fern a
slender fern, Athyrium filix-femina. lady-in-waiting a lady attending a
queen or
princess. lady-killer a practised and
habitual seducer. lady-love a man's
sweetheart. Lady
Mayoress the wife of a
Lord Mayor. Lady
Muck sl. derog. a socially
pretentious woman. lady of the
bedchamber = lady-in-waiting. lady of
easy virtue a sexually
promiscuous woman; a
prostitute. lady's
bedstraw a yellow-flowered
herbaceous plant, Galium verum. lady's companion a
roll containing cottons etc. lady's
finger 1 =
kidney vetch. 2 =
LADYFINGER (cf. ladies' fingers). lady's
maid a lady's
personal maidservant. lady's
mantle any rosaceous plant of the
genus Alchemilla with yellowish-green
clustered flowers. lady-smock =
cuckoo flower 1. lady's
slipper any orchidaceous plant of the genus
Cypripedium, with a usu.
yellow slipper-shaped
lip on
its flowers. lady's tresses any white-flowered
orchid of the genus Spiranthes. Lady Superior the
head of a
convent or
nunnery in
certain orders. my lady a form of
address used
chiefly by servants etc. to holders of the title 'Lady'. my lady wife joc. my wife.
old lady colloq. 1 a
mother. 2 a wife or mistress.
Our Lady the Virgin Mary. øøladyhood n. [OE hlófdige f. hlaf
LOAF(1) + (unrecorded) digknead, rel. to DOUGH): in Lady Day etc. f. OE genit. hlófdigan (Our) Lady's]