lady
la·dy/ˈleɪ.di/noun, verb
lady is spelled L-A-D-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables (la·dy). It appears 89 times per million words in written English, the 1,191st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lady means “The mistress of a household” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lady is ladies.
How many letters and syllables are in lady?
| Letters | 4: L-A-D-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: la·dy |
| In writing | 89 times per million words; the 1,191st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lady?
Lady appears 89 times per million words in written English, the 1,191st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lady?
- UK /ˈleɪ.di/
- British /ˈlɛj.dɪj/
- US /ˈleɪ.di/
Lady has 2 syllables, split la·dy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lady.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lady
- ladies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ladying participle, present
- ladied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lady mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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, a lordess.
- 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
A woman: an adult female human.
Please direct this lady to the soft furnishings department.
- 7
A polite reference or form of address to women.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today. Follow me, ladies!
- 8
slangUsed to address a female.
Hey, lady, move your car!
verb
- 1
To address as “lady”.
noun
- 1
An aristocratic title for a woman.
- 2
Used with a surname or the name of a peerage, for a peeress in her own right (other than a duchess), or the wife (or widow) of a peer (other than a duke).
Would Lady Macbeth care for dessert?
- 3
Used with a surname, for the wife (or widow) of a knight or baronet.
Sir John Smith and Lady Smith accompanied the ambassador.
- 4
Used as a courtesy title with the woman’s given name, for a daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl.
- 5
Used with her husband’s given name, for the wife (or widow) of a man who is the son of a duke or marquess, or the oldest son of an earl.
- 6
A high priestess.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lady in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Herrin des Hauses, Hausherrin, Ehefrau des Hausherrn, Frau des Hauses , Dame , Frau |
| Portuguese | ama , senhora, dona, dama , Senhora |
| Spanish | ama , señora, dama , Señora |
| French | dame, madame, lady , Dame, Madame |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lady come from?
From Middle English lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from Old English hlǣfdīġe (“mistress of a household, wife of a lord, lady”, literally “bread-kneader”), from hlāf (“bread, loaf”) + dǣġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).