Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Lady \La"dy\, n.; pl. {Ladies}. [OE. ladi, l[ae]fdi, AS.
hl?fdige, hl?fdie; AS. hl[=a]f loaf + a root of uncertain
origin, possibly akin to E. dairy. See {Loaf}, and cf.
{Lord}.]
1. 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.).
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman;
-- the feminine correlative of gentleman.
6. A wife; -- not now in approved usage. --Goldsmith.
7. (Zo["o]l.) 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.
{Ladies' man}, a man who affects the society of ladies.
{Lady altar}, an altar in a lady chapel. --Shipley.
{Lady chapel}, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
{Lady court}, the court of a lady of the manor.
{Lady court}, the court of a lady of the manor.
{Lady crab} (Zo["o]l.), a handsomely spotted swimming crab
({Platyonichus ocellatus}) very common on the sandy shores
of the Atlantic coast of the United States.
{Lady fern}. (Bot.) See {Female fern}, under {Female}, and
Illust. of {Fern}.
{Lady in waiting}, a lady of the queen's household, appointed
to wait upon or attend the queen.
{Lady Mass}, a Mass said in honor of the Virgin Mary.
--Shipley.
{Lady of the manor}, a lady having jurisdiction of a manor;
also, the wife of a manor lord.
{Lady's maid}, a maidservant who dresses and waits upon a
lady. --Thackeray.
{Our Lady}, the Virgin Mary.
Lady \La"dy\, a.
Belonging or becoming to a lady; ladylike. ``Some lady
trifles.'' --Shak.
Lady \La"dy`\
The day of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March 25. See
{Annunciation}.
Source : WordNet®
lady
n 1: a polite name for any woman; "a nice lady at the library
helped me"
2: a woman of refinement; "a chauffeur opened the door of the
limousine for the grand lady" [syn: {dame}, {madam}, {ma'am},
{gentlewoman}]
3: a woman of the peerage in Britain [syn: {noblewoman}, {peeress}]
[ant: {Lord}, {Lord}]
Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
LADY
["Key Concepts in the INCAS Multicomputer Project",
J. Nehmer et al IEEE Trans Soft Eng SE-13(8):913-923 (Aug
1987)].
(1996-06-21)