Editing Lady

{{Short description|Title of address for a noble woman}}
{{Redirect|My Lady|other uses|Milady (disambiguation)|and|Lady (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Gentlelady|Gentlewoman (disambiguation){{!}}Gentlewoman}}
'''''Lady''''' is a term for a [[woman]] who behaves in a [[Politeness|polite]] way.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lady Definition & Meaning {{!}} Britannica Dictionary |url=https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/lady |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref> Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of [[lord]], now it may refer to any adult woman, as [[gentleman]] can be used for men.  

"Lady" is also a formal [[British aristocracy|title in the United Kingdom]]. "Lady" is used before the [[family name]] or [[Peerage of the United Kingdom|peerage]] of a woman with a title of [[nobility]] or honorary title ''[[suo jure]]'' (in her own right), such as female members of the [[Order of the Garter]] and [[Order of the Thistle]], or the wife of a lord, a [[baronet]], Scottish [[Scottish feudal lordship|feudal baron]], [[laird]], or a [[knight]], and also before the first name of the daughter of a [[duke]], [[marquess]], or [[earl]].

== Etymology ==
The word comes from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''{{Lang|ang|hlǣfdige}}''; the first part of the word is a mutated form of ''{{Lang|ang|hlāf}}'', "loaf, [[bread]]", also seen in the corresponding ''{{Lang|ang|hlāford}}'', "lord". The second part is usually taken to be from the root ''dig-'', "to knead", seen also in [[dough]]; 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".<ref>{{Cite OED|lady|id=1095698573}}</ref><ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Lady |volume=16 |pages=61–62 |inline=1}}</ref>

==Usage==
[[File:John William Waterhouse - The Lady of Shalott - Google Art Project edit.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[John William Waterhouse]]'s ''[[The Lady of Shalott (painting)|The Lady of Shalott]]'', 1888 ([[Tate Gallery]], London, England)]]

The primary meaning of "mistress of a household" is now mostly obsolete,<ref name=EB1911/> save for the term "[[landlady]]" and in [[Phraseme|set phrases]] such as "the lady of the house". This meaning is retained in the [[Southern United States|southern 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 as [[First Lady|first lady]] and [[Lady Mayoress|lady mayoress]], the wives of elected or appointed officials. 

In many [[European languages]] the equivalent term serves as a general [[form of address]] equivalent to the English ''[[Mrs]]'' ([[French language|French]] ''{{Lang|fr|Madame}}'', [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''{{Lang|es|Señora}}'', [[Italian language|Italian]] ''{{lang|it|Signora}}'', [[German language|German]] ''{{Lang|de|[[Frau]]}}'', [[Polish language|Polish]] ''{{Lang|pl|Pani}}'', etc.). In those languages it is correct to address a woman whose name is unknown as ''{{Lang|fr|Madame}}'', ''{{Lang|es|Señora}}'', etc., but in polite English usage "lady" has for centuries only normally been a term of address in the plural,<ref name="OED">[[Oxford English Dictionary]]</ref> which is also the case for "[[gentleman]]".  The singular [[vocative]] use (i.e. to address someone directly) was once common but has become mostly confined to poetry.<ref name="OED"/>  In [[List of dialects of English|some dialects]] it 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!"<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ruth |first=Walker |date=2 February 2007 |title=Hey, lady: Call her 'madam' |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0202/p18s02-hfes.html |journal=Christian Science Monitor}}</ref> In this usage, the word "lady" is very seldom capitalized when written. The usual English term for politely addressing a woman is ''[[madam]]'' or its abbreviation ''ma'am''.

In English, relatively few [[Gender marking in job titles|job titles are un-gendered]].{{cn|date=August 2022}} 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 with [[second-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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} It is still used in some other occupations, to give dignity and express respect to less skilled work such as [[Tea lady|tea ladies]] in offices and hospitals, [[Lunch lady|lunch ladies]] (or dinner ladies) in school canteens, [[Cleaning lady|cleaning ladies]] in private homes and in business premises, and healthcare ladies for female [[Unlicensed assistive personnel|healthcare assistants]]. 

Both British and American commentators noted the shifting uses of "lady" in the mid-twentieth century. The American journalist [[William Allen White]] noted 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 of [[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|police court]] characters, who were all "ladies". The British historian [[Nancy Mitford]] wrote an influential essay in 1954, "[[U and non-U English|U vs. non-U]]", in which she noted the [[Social class in the United Kingdom|class distinctions]]: [[Working class|lower class]] women 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. Lewis|C. S. Lewis]] wrote that "the guard at [[Holloway (HM Prison)|Holloway]] said it was a ''ladies''' prison!" The term "a bag lady" ([[vagabond]]) is a [[euphemism]] for a woman who has fallen on hard times; a "lady of the night" is a polite term for a [[prostitution|prostitute]].

In [[British English]], "lady" is often, but not always, simply a courteous synonym for "woman". [[Public toilet]]s are 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 "[[wikt:ladies and gentlemen|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". One [[Feminist language reform|feminist proponent of language reform]], [[Robin Lakoff]], in her book ''Language 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 academic [[Elizabeth Reid Boyd]] that feminist usage of the word "lady" has been [[Reappropriation|reclaimed]] in the 21st century.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Reid Boyd|first1=Elizabeth|title=Lady: A Feminist Four Letter Word? |journal=Women and Language|date=2012|volume=35|issue=2|pages=35–52|url=https://www.academia.edu/9400071}}</ref>

=== British titles ===
Formally, "Lady" is the female counterpart to [[Social structure of the United Kingdom#Upper class|higher ranks in society]], from gentlemen, through knights, to peers of the realm. During the [[Middle Ages]], princesses or daughters of the [[Royal family|blood royal]] were usually known by their first names with "Lady" prefixed, e.g. ''The Lady Elizabeth'';<ref name=EB1911/> since [[Old English]] and [[Middle English]] did not have a female equivalent to princes or [[earl]]s or 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, of [[marchioness (title)|marchioness]], [[countess]], [[viscountess]] or [[baroness]], whether as the title of the husband's rank by right or courtesy, or as the lady's title in her own right.<ref name=EB1911/> A peeress's title is used with the [[definite article]]: Lord Morris's wife is "the Lady Morris".  A widow's title derived from her husband becomes the [[dowager]], 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 Scottish [[Scottish feudal lordship|feudal baron]] or [[laird]], the title "Lady" preceding the name of the barony or lairdship.<ref>{{cite book|title=Titles and Forms of Address|isbn=9781408148129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UZKrBAAAQBAJ&q=laird+title+of+wife+of&pg=PT88 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|date=31 January 2007|access-date=26 January 2016|quote=The widow of a chief or laird continues to use the territorial style and the prefix Dowager may be used in the same circumstances ... In rural Scotland   (laird's) wives are often styled Lady, though not legally except in the case of the wives of chiefs.}}</ref> In the case of younger sons of a [[duke]] or [[marquess]], who have the [[courtesy 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''.<ref name=EB1911/> 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 a [[commoner]], e.g. ''Mr John and Lady Jane Smith''. "Lady" is also the customary title of the wife of a [[baronet]] or [[knight]], but in this case without Christian name: "Lady" with the surname of the husband only,<ref name=EB1911/> ''Sir John and Lady Smith''. When a woman divorces a knight and he marries again, the new wife will be ''Lady Smith'' while the ex-wife becomes ''Jane, Lady Smith'' until either her own death or until she remarries.<ref name="dpmc1">{{cite web |title=Titles and styles of knights and dames {{!}} Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) |url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/new-zealand-royal-honours/honours-lists-and-recipients/information-honours-recipients/titles-styles-knights-dames |website=[[Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (New Zealand)|Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Government]] |access-date=24 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424042112/https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/new-zealand-royal-honours/honours-lists-and-recipients/information-honours-recipients/titles-styles-knights-dames |archive-date=24 April 2024 |location=[[New Zealand Parliament, Wellington]] |language=en |date=7 November 2023}}</ref> Widows and former wives of knights retain their married style until their death or they remarry.<ref name="Debretts2014a">{{cite book |last1=Debrett's |editor1-last=Wyse |editor1-first=Elizabeth |editor2-last=Bryant |editor2-first=Jo |editor3-last=Noel |editor3-first=Celestria |editor4-last=Kidd |editor4-first=Charles |editor5-last=Alexander |editor5-first=Davina |editor3-link=Celestria Noel |editor5-link=Davina Alexander |title=Debrett's Handbook British Style, Correct Form, Modern Manners |date=16 October 2014 |publisher=[[Debrett's]] |location=[[Charles Street, Mayfair]] |isbn=9780992934811 |pages=54 |edition=2014 |url=https://archive.org/details/debrettshandbook0000unse/mode/2up |access-date=22 February 2025 |language=en |chapter=Formal Address - Knights (Widow and Former Wife of a Knight) |quote=She is addressed as the wife of a knight, provided that she does not remarry, when she will take her style from her present husband.}}</ref> She is also never addressed as "Lady Jane Smith".<ref name="Debretts2014b">{{cite book |last1=Debrett's |editor1-last=Wyse |editor1-first=Elizabeth |editor2-last=Bryant |editor2-first=Jo |editor3-last=Noel |editor3-first=Celestria |editor4-last=Kidd |editor4-first=Charles |editor5-last=Alexander |editor5-first=Davina |editor3-link=Celestria Noel |editor5-link=Davina Alexander |title=Debrett's Handbook British Style, Correct Form, Modern Manners |date=16 October 2014 |publisher=[[Debrett's]] |location=[[Charles Street, Mayfair]] |isbn=9780992934811 |pages=54 |edition=2014 |url=https://archive.org/details/debrettshandbook0000unse/mode/2up |access-date=22 February 2025 |language=en |chapter=Formal Address - Knights (Widow and Former Wife of a Knight) |quote=A knight's wife should never be addressed as, for example, 'Lady Barbara Waverton' (ie with the inclusion of her forename) unless she is the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl}}</ref>

Female members of the [[Order of the Garter]] and [[Order of the Thistle]] who 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. ''Lady [[Marion Fraser]], LT'', with the [[post nominal]] LG or LT, respectively, and this is preserved if the lady marries.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

==Other meanings==
The special use of the word as a [[Titles of Mary|title]] of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]], usually ''[[Our Lady (disambiguation)|Our Lady]]'', represents the [[Latin]] ''Domina Nostra''. In [[Lady Day]] and [[Lady Chapel]], the word is properly a [[genitive case|genitive]], representing ''hlǣfdigan''<ref name=EB1911/> "of the Lady".

The word is also used as a title of the [[Wicca]]n Goddess, ''The Lady''.

[[Margaret Thatcher]] was informally referred to in the same way by many of her political colleagues when [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]]. 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 the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], the word is used in a similar fashion to aristocratic usage in Britain. In Ghana, for example, the consort of the [[Asantehene]] of the [[Ashanti people]] is known as [[Julia Osei Tutu|Lady Julia Osei Tutu]]. In Nigeria,  the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] aristocrats [[Kofoworola Ademola|Kofoworola, Lady Ademola]] and [[Oyinkansola Abayomi|Oyinkansola, Lady Abayomi]] made use of the title due to their being the wives of British knights.

== See also ==
* [[Girl]]
* [[Dame]], a title parallel to Sir

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* ''Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage'' (Merriam-Webster, 1989), {{ISBN|0-87779-132-5}}.
* Lakoff, Robin. ''Language and Woman's Place'' (New York, Harper & Row, 1975). {{ISBN|0-19-516757-0}}.


{{Social titles}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Titles]]
[[Category:Women's social titles]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:English words]]
[[Category:Terms for women]]
[[Category:Gentry]]
[[Category:British noble titles]]
[[Category:Styles (forms of address)]]
[[Category:History of women in the United Kingdom]]