lady: Meaning and Definition of

la•dy

1. a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken: She may be poor and have little education, but she's a real lady.
2. a woman of high social position or economic class: She was born a lady and found it hard to adjust to her reduced circumstances.
3. any woman; female (sometimes used in combination): the lady who answered the phone; a saleslady.
4. (Used in direct address: often offensive in the singular): Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Lady, out of my way, please.
5. wife: The ambassador and his lady arrived late.
6. a female lover or steady companion.
7. (cap.) (in Great Britain) the proper title of any woman whose husband is higher in rank than baronet or knight, or who is the daughter of a nobleman not lower than an earl (although the title is given by courtesy also to the wives of baronets and knights).
8. a woman who has proprietary rights or authority, as over a manor; female feudal superior. Cf. lord (def. 4).
9. (cap.) the Virgin Mary.
10. a woman who is the object of chivalrous devotion.
11. (usually cap.) Lady Fortune; Lady Virtue.
1. an attribute or abstraction personified as a woman; a designation of an allegorical figure as feminine:Lady Fortune; Lady Virtue.
2. a title prefixed to the name of a goddess:Lady Venus.

1. being a lady; female: a lady reporter.
2. of a lady; ladylike; feminine.