英文词源
- lady
- lady: [OE] Originally, the term lady denoted a ‘kneader of bread’. It comes from Old English hloefdige, a compound formed from hlǣf ‘bread’ (ancestor of modern English loaf) and an element *dig- ‘knead’ (related to English dough). It is a measure of the symbolic (and actual) importance of bread in medieval households that (like lord, also a derivative of loaf) lady came, as a provider of bread, to be applied to someone in a position of authority within a house.
=> dairy, dough, loaf, lord - lady (n.)
- c. 1200, lafdi, lavede, from Old English hlæfdige "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," literally "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf) + -dige "maid," related to dæge "maker of dough" (see dey (n.1); also compare lord (n.)). The medial -f- disappeared 14c. Not found outside English except where borrowed from it.
Sense of "woman of superior position in society" is c. 1200; "woman whose manners and sensibilities befit her for high rank in society" is from 1861 (ladylike in this sense is from 1580s, and ladily from c. 1400). Meaning "woman as an object of chivalrous love" is from early 14c. Used commonly as an address to any woman since 1890s. Applied in Old English to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, place names, etc., from genitive singular hlæfdigan, which in Middle English merged with the nominative, so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's, as in ladybug. Ladies' man first recorded 1784. Lady of pleasure recorded from 1640s.
中文词源
lady（夫人）：揉面包的人
lady一词来自古英语hlafdige，等于loaf-kneader（揉面包者），指的是lord的夫人，家中的主妇。
在中世纪，lady一词是对贵族家的女眷的尊称。侯爵夫人、伯爵夫人、子爵夫人、男爵夫人以及公爵、侯爵和伯爵的女儿都可以称呼为Lady，用法与lord一样，在姓氏或封号前冠以Lady，在第二人称中为“my lady”。总而言之，lady指的是贵族家的女眷，因此lady一词含有“高贵、淑女”之意，在现代用作对所有女士的尊称。英语单词ladylike意思就是像淑女一样的。
lady： ['leɪdɪ] n.女士，夫人，小姐
ladylike： ['leɪdɪlaɪk] adj.像淑女那样的，贤淑高贵的
该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：lady 词源，lady 含义。
lady：夫人，女士
来自古英语hlaefdige,准备面包的人，女主人，hlaef,面包，词源同loaf,-dige,揉捏，词源同dough,dairy.后用于尊称夫人，女士。比较lord.
lady：女士
lady和lord这两个身分高贵的词其出身都和面包有联系。在古英语Lady作hlaefdige，由hlaf‘loaf’（面包）加dige‘kneader'（揉捏者）构成，意思是loaf-kneader（做面包的人），造就是说，那时的lady要亲自下厨揉面团，烤面包。lord在古英语作hlaford，更早一些作hlafweard，由hlaf ‘loaf’加weard‘keeper’构成，意思是bread-keeper，违反映了一家之主和其属下之间的基本关系。因此，lady和lord早先一度分别指女主人（或妻子）与男主人（或丈夫），13和14世纪以后分别作为对贵族的妻女的尊称与对贵族等的一般称呼。在长期的词义演变过程中lady的词义变得越来越一般化，并衍生了不少词义，它如今最常用的词义恐怕莫过于同gentleman（先生）相对应的“女士”一义了。