• IPA: /ˈleɪdi/

lady (plural ladies)

1. (historical) The mistress of a household.
2. A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.

   "I would like the dining room to be fully set by tonight; would you do so?" "Yes, my lady".

3. The feminine of lord.
   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i], page 283 ↗, column 2:

     Of all theſe bounds euen from this Line, to this, / With ſhadowie Forreſts, and with Champains rich’d / With plenteous Riuers, and wide-ſkirted Meades / We make thee Lady.

4. A title for someone married to a lord or gentleman.
5. A title that can be used instead of the formal terms of marchioness, countess, viscountess or baroness.
6. (polite or used by children) A woman: an adult female human.

   Please direct this lady to the soft furnishings department.

7. (in the plural) A polite reference or form of address to women.

   Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today. Follow me, ladies!

8. (slang) Used to address a female.

   Hey, lady, move your car!

   Hey, lady/ladies, how are you doing?

9. (ladies' or ladies) Toilets intended for use by women.
10. (familiar) A wife or girlfriend; a sweetheart.
    • c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals):

      , [Act II, scene ii]

      It is my Lady, O it is my Loue, O that ſhe knew ſhe were, / She ſpeaks, yet ſhe ſays nothing, what of that?

11. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound.

    • The ſoldier here his waſted ſtore ſupplies, / And takes new valor from the Ladies’ eyes.

12. (slang) A queen the playing card.
13. (attributive, with a professional title) Who is a woman.

    A lady doctor.

14. (Wicca) Alternative form of Lady.
15. The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster, consisting of calcareous plates; so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure.
16. (UK, slang) A five-pound note. (Rhyming slang, Lady Godiva for fiver.)
17. (slang) A woman’s breast.

• German: Herrin des Hauses, Hausherrin, Ehefrau des Hausherrn, Frau des Hauses
• Portuguese: ama
• Russian: хозя́йка
• Spanish: ama

• French: dame, madame
• German: Dame
• Italian: signora, dama
• Portuguese: senhora, dona, dama
• Russian: (indecl) ле́ди
• Spanish: señora, dama

• French: dame, madame
• German: Frau, Herrin, Dame
• Italian: signora
• Portuguese: senhora
• Russian: ле́ди
• Spanish: señora

• French: dame
• German: Dame, meine Dame, Madam, verehrte Frau
• Italian: signora, dama
• Portuguese: dama, moça
• Russian: госпожа́
• Spanish: señora, dama

• German: Damentoilette
• Portuguese: damas, elas
• Russian: же́нский туале́т
• Spanish: baño de damas

lady

1. An aristocratic title for a woman; the wife of a lord and/or a woman who holds the position in her own right; a title for a peeress, the wife of a peer or knight, and the daughters and daughters-in-law of certain peers.

   Sir John Smith and Lady Smith.

   Would Lady Macbeth care for dessert?

   • 1893, Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan i 1

     How do you do, Lady Windermere?

2. (UK, birdwatching) Lady Amherst's pheasant.
3. (Wicca) A high priestess.

• French: Dame, Madame
• German: Frau, Herrin, Dame
• Italian: Signora
• Portuguese: Senhora
• Russian: ле́ди
• Spanish: Señora

1. The title for the (primary) female deity in female-centered religions.

   My Lady, will you not take pity on me?

   1. (in particular) The major supernatural figurehead in the Wiccan religion, a triune goddess split into the Mother, Maiden, and Crone.
      • 2002, A.J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 90 ↗:

        ...different stages of life as represented by our Lady as Maiden, Mother, and Crone, as well as our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.

      • 2003, Carl McColman, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism, page 46 ↗:

        The Lord and the Lady Actually, when I say that Wicca is a Goddess tradition, I'm really only telling half of the story.

      • 2004, Aurora Greenbough, Cathy Jewell, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spells and Spellcraft, page 9 ↗:

        The Lady is often thought of as having three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

• (religious senses) Goddess

• (Wicca) Lord, Horned God, God