Lady

Lady

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.

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Famous quotes containing the word lady:

    I know a lady in Venice would have walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    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)

    That when she essayed
    To drink lemonade,
    She slipped through the straw and fell in.
    —Unknown. There Was a Young Lady of Lynn (l. 3–5)