The word lady is a polite term for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to, or spouse of, a lord or gentleman, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman. Once relating specifically to women of high social class or status, over the last 300 years it has spread to embrace all adult women, though in some contexts may still be used to evoke a concept of "ladylike" standards of behaviour.
Read more about Lady: Etymology and Usage
Famous quotes containing the word lady:
“Nature is seldom in the wrong, custom always.”
—Mary Wortley, Lady Montagu (1689–1762)
“—I am a lady young in beauty waiting
Until my truelove comes, and then we kiss.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)