Lad
Pronunciation
- IPA: /læd/
- unstressed IPA: /ləd/
- Rhymes: -æd
Origin
Middle English ladde ("foot soldier, servant"). Possibly cognate with Dutch lid ("member").
Full definition of lad
Noun
lad
(plural lads)- (chiefly British) A boy or young man.
- (British) A jack the lad; a boyo.I think he reckons he's a bit of a lad.
- A familiar term of address for a young man.
- A groom who works with horses (also called stable-lad).
- (Ireland) The penis.
- 1995-05-05, Father Ted, Mrs Glynn: Oh but there's this great bit in it. You see, there was this girl, but then you find out it's not a girl but a man!
Mrs Sheridan: And he got his lad out. - 2007, Unknown, translated by Ciaran Carson, The Táin, And he loaded the chariot with clods and boulders and cobbles that he fired at anyone who came to stare at him and jeer him, stark naked as he was, with his long lad and his acorns dangling down through the floor of the chariot.
- 2010, Loucinda McGary, The Wild Irish Sea: A Windswept Tale of Love and Magic, Just thinking about how she would look without her clothes made his lad twitch with anticipation.
Usage notes
Prevalent in Northern English dialects such as Geordie, Mackem, Scouse and Northumbrian.