Lady ( English lady , from the Old English hlǣfdige - “the one who kneads bread” [1] , similarly lord - “the keeper of bread”) - an English word with the meaning “mistress”, “mistress”; in the English-speaking world - a polite designation of a woman (especially from the upper layers of society ), as well as the British aristocratic title used with the name.
Corresponds to the designations of men: “ gentleman ” (the standard appeal to the audience is “ladies and gentlemen”), “ lord ”, “ sir ”.
The name Our Lady ("Our Lady", "Lady") means the Virgin (similar to Lord - "Lord God").
The name "lady" as part of the full name in the UK is used:
- with the main part of the title, for example, “Lady Mountbatten” - women who are in their right peers of Great Britain (along with more accurate and official titles: “Countess”, “Marquise”, “Viscountess”, “Baroness”; duchesses are not usually called “ lady ", but only with the full title);
- with the main part of the title, for example, “Lady Essex” - the wives of persons entitled to the full title “ Lord ” (peers of Great Britain; along with more accurate titles for her husband: “Countess”, etc.)
- with a personal name and surname, for example, "Lady Diana Spencer" - unmarried daughters of dukes, marquises and counts;
- with the surname or name of the husband, for example, “lady (Randolph) Churchill” - the wives of persons entitled to a personal title of courtesy “lord” (in certain cases - the sons of British peers; see the article for the courtesy title for more details);
- with a surname, for example, “Lady McCartney” - the wives of persons entitled to the title “ sir ” (knights and baronets).
Widows who have not remarried retain the same titles as in the life of their husbands (the addition of the word Dowager - “ widower ” is possible). Divorced wives who have not remarried use the title without the definitive article of the (Lady Smith - Lord Smith's ex-wife).
For wives of republican heads of state, the notion “ first lady ” is used (not in all countries official).
See also
“Lady” (2011) is a feature film by Luc Besson about the life of Myanmar political activist Aung San Suu Kyi , told by her husband, British Tibetologist Michael Ayris .