▪ I. lad, n.1
(læd)
Forms: 4–6 ladde, 6–8 Sc. lawd, 7 ladd, 5– lad.
[ME. ladde, of obscure origin.
Possibly a use of the definite form of the pa. pple. of lead v.; in ME. lad is a dialectal variant of led pa. pple. The use might have originated in the application of the plural ladde elliptically to the followers of a lord. Actual evidence, however, is wanting. It is noteworthy that a ‘Godric Ladda’ attests a document written 1088–1123 (Earle Land Charters 270). If this cognomen be (as is possible) identical with ME. ladde, its evidence is unfavourable to the derivation suggested above.
Quite inadmissible, both on the ground of phonology and meaning, is the current statement that the word is cognate with the last syllable of the Goth. juggalauþs young man; the ending -lauþs (stem -lauda- adj., laudi- n.), which does not occur as an independent word, has in compounds the sense ‘having (a certain) growth or size’, as in hwēlauþs how great, swalauþs so great, samalauþs equally great. The Celtic derivations commonly alleged are also worthless: the Welsh llawd is a dictionary figment invented to explain the feminine 'lodes (in Dictionaries llodes), which Prof. Rhys has shown to be shortened from herlodes, fem. of herlawd, a. ME. herlot harlot; and the Irish lath does not exist in either the earlier or the later sense of ‘lad’, but means ‘hero’ or ‘champion’.]
† 1. A serving-man, attendant; a man of low birth and position; a varlet. Obs.
| c 1300 Havelok 1786 ‘Hwat haue ye seid’, quoth a ladde. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 154 Mony ladde þer forth-lep to laue & to kest. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 32 To make lordes of laddes Of lond that he wynneth. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 4451 And weþen art þou; þov ladde prout? c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 8280 Whan Serenides the Ring had, Glad she was, and called a lad. c 1440 York Myst. xxix. 390 Þis ladde [Jesus] with his lesyngis has oure lawes lorne. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 43 Lord and lad, to my law doth lowte. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 1015 A lad to wedde a lady is an inconuenyent. c 1530 L. Cox Rhet. (1899) 77 He had with hym syngyng laddes and women seruantes. 1530 Lyndesay Test. Papyngo 391 Pandaris, pykthankis, custronis, and clatteraris, Loupis vp frome laddis, sine lychtis amang lardis. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. ii. 15 Or euer they burned the fatt, the prestes lad [Vulg. puer] came, and sayde [etc.]. 1549–50 in Swayne Churchw. Acc. Sarum (1896) 277 Smythe the carpenter for j dayes Labor for his servaunte Clerke and his ladde for takyng downe of the tymbre. 1721 Kelly Scot. Prov. 240 Lay up like a Laird, and seek like a Lad. |
2. a. A boy, youth; a young man, young fellow. Also, in the diction of pastoral poetry, used to denote ‘a young shepherd’. In wider sense applied familiarly or endearingly (sometimes ironically) to a male person of any age, esp. in the form of address my lad. lad of wax: a shoemaker.
| [c 1440 Promp. Parv. 283/1 Ladde, or knave, garcio. 1483 Cath. Angl. 206/1 A Ladde, vbi a knaffe.] 1535 Coverdale Prov. xxii. 15 Foolishnes sticketh in the herte of y⊇ lad, but y⊇ rod of correccion driueth it awaye. 1552 Latimer Serm. (1584) 323 First he is a childe; afterward he becommeth a ladde; then a yong man, and after that a perfect man. 1562 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 53 Lymmer lawdis and litle lassis. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. ii. 112 Prin. Where shall we take a purse to morrow, Iacke? Fal. Where thou wilt Lad. 1600 Dekker Honest Wh. ii. Dram. Wks. II. 115 How now old Lad, what doest cry? 1602 Narcissus (1893) 78 Why, well said, my ladds of mettall. 1608 Willet Hexapla Exod. 787 Our blessed Sauiour..said to his disciples, children, or lads, haue ye any meate? a 1650 Captain Carr 30 in Furnivall Percy Folio I. 81 ‘Ile not giue over my house’, shee said, ‘neither for Ladds nor man’. 1709 Byrom Lit. Rem. (1854) I. i. 6 The other two sizers, one sophister, the other a Lancashire lad of our year. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Pope 1 Apr., The young lads..divert themselves with making garlands for their favourite lambs. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 269 The old lad was not to be caught. 1794 Sporting Mag. III. 201 Requesting you as a brother lad of wax to make me some of your tight shoes. 1829 Hood Eug. Aram viii, My gentle lad, what is't you read? 1856 R. M. Ballantyne Snowflakes & Sunbeams xxviii. 390 What did you say struck you, Harry, my lad? 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxxviii. 4 Lovely the lady, the lad lovely, a company sweet. 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. v. 140 All handsome lads and pretty lasses. |
b. A man of spirit and vigour; used esp. in phrs. a bit of a lad, quite a lad. Also (colloq.), a spirited girl.
| a 1553 Udall Royster D. iv. vii. (Arb.) 71, I trowe they shall finde and feele that I am a lad. 1913 [see bit n.2 4 c]. 1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (1935) v. lxi. 346 He, Rahail, was quite a lad: a free-built, sturdy fellow, too fleshy for the life we were to lead. 1935 G. Ingram Cockney Cavalcade iv. 54 ‘That matcher of ours is a lad, Mum!’..‘Oh, what's she been up to now?’ 1935 Punch 13 Mar. 294/1 Women..Describe him freely to my face As quite a lad. 1960 ‘H. Carmichael’ Seeds of Hate xiii. 117 Bit of a lad is Mr. Alan Clark..running round fancy-free for years. 1969 A. Cade Turn up Stone iii. 76 Oh dear! The late Clive Neilson was certainly a bit of a lad, wasn't he? |
c. A stable-groom of any age; also, a female one.
| 1848 Sporting Life 8 Jan. 242/1 The more important a groom is, the more mysterious, conceited, pedantic he is... The first thing a lad does now-a-days is to set up a watch, after which, if his mind incline towards horses, he buys what he calls a ‘printed book’ about them. 1862 Once a Week 1 Nov. 512/1 Judging..from the quarter in which these betting operations were carried on, they were led to think that the lad who attended to the horse Gosport,..conveyed intelligence to his master. 1894 Strand Mag. May 554/1 He was a good lad, tinged with the archaic stable-slang of Thessaly. 1968 D. Francis Forfeit iv. 49, I..called on the trainer, whom I saw almost every time I went racing... ‘Did you find Sandy Willes?.. She's one of my best lads.’ 1971 Daily Tel. 5 Apr. 11 (caption) A celebration snack for Specify, winner of the Grand National... Celebrating with him are Mr John E. Sutcliffe (left), his trainer, Mr Richard Bullen, his ‘lad’, and Mrs Sutcliffe. 1971 D. Francis Bonecrack 17 The elderly lad who looked after him was standing at the door. Ibid. 19 There had been quite a stir in Newmarket when my father had promoted her to head lad. 1972 Guardian 6 May 11/3 A famous owner..was watching his horse on the gallops... ‘Who's that lad on 'im?’ he said to the trainer. ‘Oh,’ came the reply, ‘that's Cynthia.’ 1973 Daily Tel. 30 Oct. 9/2 Lads and girls serving their five-year apprenticeship get pocket money..with clothing and keep paid for by the trainer. |
3. Sc. A sweetheart.
| 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. v. ii, And am I then a match for my ain lad? 1781 J. Mayne Logan Braes in Chambers' Cycl. Eng. Lit. II. 493 While my dear lad maun face his faes Far, far frae me. 1786 Burns Dream xiv, Ye royal Lasses dainty, Heav'n..gie you lads a-plenty. |
4. attrib., as lad-porter; † lad-age, the age of boyhood; lad-bairn, -wean Sc., a male child.
| 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. i. Vocation 170 Here have I past my *Lad-age fair and good. |
| 17.. Herd's Collect. Sc. Songs (1776) II. 149 This maiden had a braw *lad-bairn. 1821 Galt Ann. Parish xix. 180 There was a greater christening of lad bairns than had ever been in any year during my incumbency. |
| 1894 Daily News 11 Sept. 5/3 A *lad porter on the..Railway. 1821 Hogg Jacobite Relics II. 175 Bonny orphan *lad-weans twa. |
Hence the nonce-wds. ˈladdess, a girl, lass; ˈladdism, the condition or character of a lad; ˈladhood, the state of being a lad.
| 1768 H. Walpole Corr. (1837) II. 407, I know that he is a very amiable lad and I do not know that she is not as amiable a laddess. 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIII. 80 They..emerge..into the full and perfect imago of little lords..without any of those intermediate conditions of laddism, hobble-de-hoyism [etc.]. 1883 Spectator 28 Apr. 543 Youth or ladhood was now protracted further into life. 1891 Century Mag. Nov. 61 In this region I grew to ladhood. |
Add: [2.] d. pl. (usu. with the). Men of any age belonging to a group sharing common working, recreational, or other interests, esp. with the implication of comradeship and equality; spec. the rank-and-file members of a trade union. Cf. boy n.1 6 d.
| 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. ii, All the ‘lads’..had gone home for the night, with the exception of the under-coachman. 1961 Times 7 June 18/4 Through the mullioned windows of the bar one can see a group of the ‘lads’—a broad appellation, for their ages range from 17 to 70. 1974 P. Wright Lang. Brit. Industry ix. 75, I don't know whether that offer'll get the lads back. 1979 Daily Tel. 25 Sept. 18/2 The schoolchildren [in the Irish Republic] play at ‘the lads’ versus ‘Brit soldiers’. 1989 Times 29 June 29/1 The vote indicates the lads are absolutely solid. |
▸ Brit. colloq. A young man characterized by his enjoyment of social drinking, sport, and other activities considered to be male-oriented, his engagement in casual sexual relationships, and often by attitudes or behaviour regarded as irresponsible, sexist, or boorish; (usually) one belonging to a close-knit social group. Also (occas.): a young woman exhibiting comparable behaviour; cf. ladette n. Cf. later new lad n.
| 1986J. Burchill Lad Overboard in Face Feb. 31/2 Remarried after more than a decade on the rampage, at 47 in true Lad style to a girl of 22. 1995 C. Higson Full Whack (1996) x. 66 After all the landlord was one of their own. A lad. They'd got drunk together, gone to the football together. 1995 Independent on Sunday 24 Dec. (Real Lives Suppl.) 3/5 She is a lad by her own admission. 1999 S. Stewart Sharking vi. 94 Dave had basically been a grotesque living caricature of a lad, never happy unless boozing, tooting or telling lies about his sexual prowess. |
▸ lad culture n. attitudes and behaviour considered to be typical of a ‘lad’ (see above).
| 1991 Guardian (Nexis) 21 Mar. He even played to an audience of nuns once (‘I thought Christ, I'd better tone it down’). Truly, *lad-culture casts its net wide. 2000 Herald (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 18 Aug. Boys seem to have an extreme amount of pressure on them and it's very hard for them to resist the lad culture. |
▸ lad mag n. a magazine aimed at young men, featuring esp. interviews with and pin-ups of female celebrities.
| 1995 Guardian (Nexis) 21 Aug. (Media section) 11 Upstart Loaded..nosed ahead of GQ... This has caused a bit of tomcat-ish aggro, with GQ claiming the *lad mag is immature (ouch!) and anyway ‘not in the same sector’. 2000 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 3 Sept. (Mag.) 4/1 You know those adverts you see up the back of sad lad mags and Viz for ‘special’ pheromone sprays to make men irresistible to the ladeez. |
▸ lads' mag n. = lad mag n. at Additions.
| 1994 Evening Standard (Nexis) 20 Apr. 45 Ironically the *lads' mag, Loaded, comes from IPC, who already provide that section of the gay population who don't buy Just 17 with their constant diet of Take That pictures through the recently launched Now. 2001 Coventry Evening Tel. (Nexis) 23 Feb. 65 Leaving behind her reputation as a lads' mag favourite, the 29-year-old blonde is aiming to become the latest pin-up to explore new avenues to superstardom. |
▪ II. † lad, n.2 Obs. rare.
A thong. Hence † ˈladded a., thonged.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 283/1 Ladde, thwonge (K. thounge, S. thang), ligula. Laddyd, ligulatus. 1847 Halliwell, Lad, a thong of leather; a shoe-latchet. |
▪ III. lad
obs. pa. tense and pple. of lead v.