lord

Meanings

Noun

• The master of the servants of a household; the master of a feudal manor
• One possessing similar mastery over others; any feudal superior generally; any nobleman or aristocrat; any chief, prince, or sovereign ruler; in Scotland, a male member of the lowest rank of nobility (the equivalent rank in England is baron)
• One possessing similar mastery in figurative senses (esp. as lord of ~)
• The heavenly body considered to possess a dominant influence over an event, time, etc.
• A hunchback.
• Sixpence.

Verb

• Domineer or act like a lord.
• To invest with the dignity, power, and privileges of a lord; to grant the title of lord.

Related

Similar words

• drighten, possessor, proprietor, sovereign
• elevate, ennoble, invest

Origin

• From Middle English lord and lorde (attested from the 15th century), from earlier (14th century) lourde and other variants which dropped the intervocalic consonant of earlier lowerd, louerd, loverd, laford, and lhoaverd; from Old English hlāford < hlāfweard, a compound of hlāf + weard; see loaf and ward. The term 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 (from northern/Scottish Middle English lard, laverd), the Old English compound hlāfǣta, and modern English lady, from Old English hlǣfdīġe. The Middle English word laford was borrowed by Icelandic, where it survives as lávarður.