Lord

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /lɔːd/
• US IPA: /lɔɹd/
• Homophones: lored
• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)d

Origin

From Middle English lord and lorde (attested from the 15th century), from earlier (14th century) lourde and other variants which dropped the intervocalic vowel of earlier lowerd, louerd, loverd, and laford; from Old English hlāford and hlāfweard, a compound of hlāf ("bread, loaf") + weard ("ward, guardian, keeper"); see loaf and ward. The compound is absent in other Germanic languages but related to the Old English hláf-ǽta ("servant, bread-eater"); it was already being applied broadly prior to the literary development of Old English and was influenced by its common use to translate Latin dominus. Compare Scots laird ("lord"), preserving a separate vowel development, and modern English lady, from Old English hlǣfdīġe ("bread-kneader").

Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "lord, n.". Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1903.

Full definition of lord

Noun

1. (obsolete) The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor
• c. 950, Lindisfarne Gospels, Matt. xxiv. 46Eadig ðe ðegn ðone miððy cymes hlaferd his on-fand sua doende.
• 1611, King James Bible, Matt. xxiv. 46BleÅ¿Å¿ed is that Å¿eruant, whome his Lord when he commeth, Å¿hal finde Å¿o doing.
• 1600, William Shakespeare, The moÅ¿t excellent HiÅ¿torie of the Merchant of Venice, iii. ii. 167 ff.Por. ...But now, I was the Lordof this faire manÅ¿ion, maiÅ¿ter of my Å¿eruants,Queene oer my Å¿elfe...
• 1794, E. Christian in William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, II. 418Lords of manors are distinguished from other land-owners with regard to the game.
1. (obsolete) The male head of a household, a father or husband.
• 831, charter in Henry Sweet, The oldest English texts, 445Ymbe ðet lond et cert ðe hire eðelmod hire hlabard salde.
• 1594, William Shakespeare, "The Rape of Lucrece"...thou worthie Lord,Of that vnworthie wife that greeteth thee
• c. 1591, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (1623), v. ii. 131 f.Pet. Katherine, I charge thee, tell theÅ¿e head-Å¿trong women,What dutie they doe owe their Lords and huÅ¿bands!
• 1611, King James Bible, Gen. xviii. 12Therefore Sarah laughed within her Å¿elfe, Å¿aying, After I am waxed old, Å¿hall I haue pleaÅ¿ure, my lord being old alÅ¿o?
• 1816, Jane Austen, Emma (novel), III. xvi. 300Yes, here I am, my good friend; and here I have been so long, that anywhere else I should think it necessary to apologise; but, the truth is, that I am waiting for my lord and master.
2. (obsolete) The owner of a house, piece of land, or other possession
• ante 1300, Cursor Mundi, 601 f.Als oure lauerd has heuen in handSua suld man be lauerd of land.
• 1480, Waterford Archives in the 10th Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (1885), App. v. 316All suche lordes as have gutters betuxte thar houses.
• ante 1637, Ben Jonson, Sad Shepherd, ii. i. 36A mightie Lord of Swine!
• 1697, John Dryden translating Publius Virgilius Maro's Æneis, xiiTurnus...Wrench'd from his feeble hold the shining Sword;And plung'd it in the Bosom of its Lord.
• 1874, J. H. Collins, Principles of Metal Mining (1875), Gloss. 139/2Lord, the owner of the land in which a mine is situated is called the ‘lord’.
2. One possessing similar mastery over others; (historical) any feudal superior generally; any nobleman or aristocrat; any chief, prince, or sovereign ruler
• c. 893, Orosius's History, i. i. §13Ohthere sæde his hlaforde, Ælfrede cyninge, þæt...
• 1530, John Palsgrave, Lesclarcissement, 680/1It is a pytuouse case... whan subjectes rebell agaynst their naturall lorde.
• 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, xii. 70Man over men He made not Lord.
1. (historical) A feudal tenant holding his manor directly of the king
2. A peer of the realm, particularly a temporal one
• ante 1375, William of Palerne (1867), l.4539To fare out as fast with his fader to speke, & with lordesse of þat lond.
• ante 1420, T. Hoccleve, De Regimine Principum, 442Men myghten lordis knoweBy there arraye, from oþir folke.
• 1453, Rolls of Parliament, V. 266/2If such persone bee of the estate of a Lord, as Duc, Marques, Erle, Viscount or Baron.
• 1597, William Shakespeare, The life and death of King Richard the Second, iv.i.18Princes, and noble Lords:What anÅ¿wer Å¿hall I make to this baÅ¿e man?
• 1614, J. Selden, Titles of Honor, 59Our English name Lord, whereby we and the Scots stile all such as are of the Greater Nobilitie i. Barons, as also Bishops.
• 1900 July 21, Daily Express, 5/7The Englishman of to-day still dearly loves a lord.
3. (obsolete, uncommon) A baron or lesser nobleman, as opposed to greater ones
• 1526, W. Bonde, Pylgrimage of Perfection, i. sig. BviiivFarre excellyng the state of lordes, erles, dukes or kynges.
• 1826, Benjamin Disraeli, Vivian Grey, II. iii. iii. 26The Marquess played off the two Lords and the Baronet against his former friend.
3. One possessing similar mastery in figurative senses (esp. as lord of ~)
• ante 1300, Cursor Mundi, 782O wityng bath god and ill Èœee suld be lauerds at ȝour will.
• 1398, John Trevisa translating Bartholomew de Glanville's De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495), viii. xvi. 322The sonne is the lorde of planetes.1697, John Dryden translating Publius Virgilius Maro as Georgics, iiiLove is Lord of all.
• 1992 November 18, Larry David, Seinfeld, 4.11: "The Contest":But are you still master of your domain?I am king of the county. You?Lord of the manor.
1. The magnates of a trade or profession
• 1823, W. Cobbett, Rural Rides (1885), I. 399Oh, Oh! The cotton Lords are tearing!
4. (astrology) The heavenly body considered to possess a dominant influence over an event, time, &c.
• circa 1391 Geoffrey Chaucer, Treatise on the Astrolabe, ii. §4:The assendent, & eke the lord of the assendent, may be shapen for to be fortunat or infortunat, as thus, a fortunat assendent clepen they whan þat no wykkid planete, as Saturne or Mars, or elles the tail of the dragoun, is in þe hows of the assendent.
5. (British, slang, obsolete) A hunchback.
• 1699, B.E., A new dictionary of the terms ancient and modern of the canting crew:Lord, a very crooked, deformed... Person.
6. (British, Australian, via Cockney rhyming slang, obsolete) Sixpence.
• 1933 November 16, Times Literary Supplement, 782/1:Twenty years ago you might hear a sixpence described as a ‘Lord’ meaning ‘Lord of the Manor’; that is, a tanner.

Derived terms

• lord mesne, lord paramount, lord in gross, lord of the manor
• House of Lords, Lords Temporal, Lords Spiritual
• drunk as a lord
• lord-in-waiting, lord of the bedchamber, lord superior
• lords of creation
• warlord
• landlord
• lord-fish

Synonyms

• (master, owner) drighten, possessor, proprietor, sovereign

Verb

1. (intransitive and transitive) Domineer or act like a lord.
2. (transitive) To invest with the dignity, power, and privileges of a lord.

Derived terms

• lord it over