lady
/ˈleɪdɪ/noun
(pl. -ies)
1
- a woman (used as a polite or old-fashioned form of reference)［提及某女子时的礼貌或旧式的叫法］女士：
I spoke to the lady at the travel agency
我同旅行社那位女士谈过
as modifier a lady doctor.女医生。
1.1
the Ladies
Brit. a women's public toilet〈英〉公共女厕所。
1.2
- chiefly N. Amer. an informal, often brusque, form of address to a woman〈主北美〉（对女人的非正式称呼, 常有生硬和简慢的意味）女士：
I'm sorry, lady, but you have the wrong number.
对不起, 女士, 你拨错电话号码了。
1.3
- used as a courteous designation for a female fellow member of the House of Commons［对同属议会下院女议员的敬称］：
the Right Honourable Lady has promised me her full support.
那位议员女士阁下已承诺全力支持我。
2
- a woman of superior social position, especially one of noble birth（尤指出身高贵的）贵妇人。
2.1
- a courteous, decorous, or genteel woman淑女：
his wife was a real lady, with such nice manners.
他的妻子真是一位淑女, 举止如此优雅。
2.2
Lady
a title used by peeresses, female relatives of peers, the wives and widows of knights, etc.（女贵族、男贵族的女眷或遗孀的头衔）夫人：Lady Caroline Lamb.
卡洛林·兰姆夫人。
2.3
- a woman at the head of a household女主人：
he always asked the lady of the house the shade of paint she would like.
他总是询问这家女主人喜欢什么色调的油漆。
3
one's lady
dated a man's wife〈旧〉妻子：welcoming the vice-president and his lady
欢迎副总统和夫人
as modifier my lady wife.我的内子。
3.1
- （亦作lady friend）a woman with whom a man is romantically or sexually involved女友; 女情人。
3.2
- historical a woman to whom a man, especially a knight, is chivalrously devoted〈史〉骑士或男子愿为之效劳的女人。
短语
find the lady
- another term for THREE-CARD TRICK.
it isn't over till the fat lady sings
- used to convey that there is still time for a situation to change仍有转机。
- ORIGIN: by association with the final aria in tragic opera.
ladies who lunch
- informal, often derogatory women with both the means and free time to meet each other socially for lunch in expensive restaurants〈非正式, 常贬〉有钱有闲在高级饭店聚会进午餐的女人。
Lady Bountiful
- a woman who engages in ostentatious acts of charity, more to impress others than out of a sense of concern for those in need施舍给人看的富婆。
- ORIGIN: early 19th cent.: from the name of a character in Farquhar's The Beaux' Stratagem (1707).
Lady Luck
- chance personified as a controlling power in human affairs（机遇的拟人化）幸运女神：
it seemed Lady Luck was still smiling on them.
似乎幸运女神仍在对他们微笑。
Lady Muck
- Bri. informal a haughty or pretentious woman (often as a mocking form of address)〈英, 非正式〉傲慢女士（常带有嘲弄意味的称呼）：
it's that woman, Lady Muck herself - who does she think she is?
就是那女人——傲慢女士——她以为自己是谁啊？
My Lady
- a polite form of address to female judges and certain noblewomen对女法官和某些贵妇人的敬称夫人。
派生词
ladyhood
noun词源
Old English hlǣfdīge （denoting a woman to whom homage or obedience is due， such as the wife of a lord or the mistress of a household， also specifically the Virgin Mary）， from hlāf 'loaf' + a Germanic base meaning 'knead'， related to DOUGH; compare with LORD. In LADY DAY and other compounds where it signifies possession， it represents the Old English genitive hlǣfdīgan '(Our) Lady's'.