▪ I. lord, n.
(lɔːd)
Forms: 1 hláfweard, hláford, -erd, (hlábard, hláfard), 2 laford, -erde, hlouerd, leverd, lhoaverd, lourde, lowerd, Orm. laferrd, 2–4 laverd, (3 lavard, læverd), 3–4 lover(e)d, lovuerde, (4 lhord, lorld(e), 4–6 lorde (4 gen. pl. lordene), 4, 6–8 lard(e, 4– lord. Also Sc. laird. In exclamations 6 leard, 7–8 lawd, 8 laud, lurd; also lud.
[OE. hláford, once hláfweard (Ps. civ. 17; Thorpe's ‘to hálf-wearde’ is a misprint: see note in Gr.-Wülck.), repr. a prehistoric form *hlaiƀward-, f. *hlaiƀ (OE. hláf) bread, loaf + *ward (OE. weard) keeper (see ward n.). In its primary sense the word (which is absent from the other Teut. langs.) denotes the head of a household in his relation to the servants and dependents who ‘eat his bread’ (cf. OE. hláf-ǽta, lit. ‘bread-eater’, a servant); but it had already acquired a wider application before the literary period of OE. The development of sense has been largely influenced by the adoption of the word as the customary rendering of L. dominus. The late ON. lávarðr is adopted from ME.
With regard to the etymological sense, cf. mod.G. brotherr, lit. ‘bread-lord’, an employer of labour. In the mod. Scandinavian langs. ‘meat-mother’ (Sw. matmoder, Da. madmoder, Icel. matmóđir) is the designation applied by servants to their mistress.
For the phonology of the OE. word see Bülbring Ae. Elementarbuch §§367, 411, 562. In the 14th c. the word became monosyllabic through the dropping of the intervocalic v and the crasis of the vowels thus brought into contact.]
I. A master, ruler.
† 1. A master of servants; the male head of a household. Obs.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxiv. 46 Eadiᵹ ðe ðeᵹn ðone miððy cymes hlaferd his on-fand sua doende. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xv. 15 Se ðeowa nat hwæt se hlafor[d] deð. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 241 Nan ne mai twan hlaforde..samod þowie. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1388 Ðis maiden wile ic..to min louerdes bofte bi-crauen. a 1300 Cursor M. 6691 If he [his thain] liue ouer a dai or tuin, Þe lauerd sal vnderli na pain. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) l, He wold gif hom toe so muche, or ellus more, As any lord wold euyr or qware. c 1450 Holland Howlat 145 Bot thir lordis belyf [thai] the letteris has tane. 1611 Bible Matt. xxiv. 46. |
2. a. One who has dominion over others as his subjects, or to whom service and obedience are due; a master, chief, prince, sovereign. Now only rhetorical. Also lord and master. Also, a husband (now usu. joc.); cf. sense 4 below.
| Beowulf (Z.) 3141 Aleᵹdon ða to middes mærne þeoden..hlaford leofne. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §13 Ohthere sæde his hlaforde, ælfrede cyninge, þæt [etc.]. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 221 Forte don him [sc. man] understonden, þat he [sc. God] his hlaford was. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 275 Ðo ne miȝte he [Lucifer] non louerd ðhauen. c 1300 Havelok 607 Þis is ure eir þat shal ben louerd of denemark. c 1330 Amis. & Amil. 2030 The squier biheld the coupes tho, First his and his lordes also. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 174 A wel-langaged lud let þe king sone Aspien..ho were lord of hur land. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3405 Swiche a lorld of lederes ne liued nouȝt, þei held. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4054 Agamynon the gret was..Leder of þo lordis. 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 629/22 Ciliarcha, a lord of thowsond knyȝtes. 1513 Douglas æneis x. v. 4 Eneas, the Troiane prynce and lard. 1530 Palsgr. 680/1 It is a pytuouse case..whan subjectes rebell agaynst their naturall lorde. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 52 Stoope Englande stoope, & learne to knowe thy lorde & master. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xx. 185 The Citie of Cusco, (the ancient Court of the Lordes of those Realmes). 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (Camden) 42 Ceremonies of dutie..they said were due to him being lord of the port. 1665 R. Verney Let. 5 June in M. M. Verney Mem. (1899) IV. iv. 122 Peg Gardner saw your Lord and Master with some gentlemen in Parke. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 70 Man over men He made not Lord. 1739–40 Richardson Pamela (1740) II. 251 Your lord and master came in very moody. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. (1869) II. xlii. 575 The common people [in Mingrelia] are in a state of servitude to their lords. 1816 Jane Austen Emma III. xvi. 300, I am waiting for my lord and master. 1841 James Brigand iii, Who is lord here upon the side of the mountain but I? 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiii. III. 321 A race which reverenced no lord, no king but himself. 1864 C. M. Yonge Trial I. vii. 126 She was not going to be one of the womankind sitting up in a row till their lords and masters should be pleased to want them! 1922 Joyce Ulysses 639 The erring fair one begging forgiveness of her lord and master. 1961 [see droit1 1 b]. 1975 P. Harcourt Fair Exchange ii. 121 ‘You're a Counsellor, a senior official..what advice would you give?’..‘I can't see our lords and masters asking me.’ |
| transf. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 38 When they [wives] striue to be Lords ore their Lords. 1596 ― Merch. V. iii. ii. 169 But now I [Portia] was the Lord Of this faire mansion, master of my seruants. |
b. fig. One who or something which has the mastery or preeminence. lords of (the) creation: mankind; now jocularly, men as opposed to women.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 782 O wityng bath god and ill Ȝee suld be lauerds at ȝour will. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De. P.R. viii. xvi. (1495) 322 The sonne is the lorde of planetes. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 229 The Lord of Wyndis..God Eolus. 1591 Spenser Ruins Rome xiv, As men in Summer fearles passe the foord Which is in Winter lord of all the plaine. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. i. 3 My bosomes L. [sic] sits lightly in his throne. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. ii. 119 There are some windes which blow in certaine regions, and are, as it were, Lordes thereof. 1643 [Angier] Lanc. Vall. Achor 7 Fire is a cruell Lord. 1667 Dryden Ess. Dram. Poesie Dram. Wks. 1725 I. 19 He is the envy of one, who is Lord in the art of quibbling. 1697 ― Virg. Georg. iii. 380 Love is Lord of all. 1744 Hobart in Lett. C'tess Suffolk (1824) II. 207, I..thought..they [women] might attain to a sagacity equal to that of the lords of the creation. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 400 The lowest animal finds more conveniencies in the wilds of nature, than he who boasts himself their lord. 1779 Jefferson Corr. Wks. 1859 I. 213 Are they so far lords of right and wrong as that [etc.]. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl II. x. 189 'Tis really a mighty silly thing for a lord of the creation..to take up his residence in a boarding house..where there are pretty women. 1830 J. G. Strutt Sylva Brit. 10 The attribute of strength by which the lord of the woods is more peculiarly distinguished. 1884 Browning Ferishtah, Family 27 A leech renowned World-wide, confessed the lord of surgery. |
† c. vocatively. Sometimes = mod. Sir!
| c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 322 Hyt ᵹedafenað la wynsuma hlaford. c 1205 Lay. 14078 Þa queð Hengest to þan kinge, Lauerd hærcne tiðende. c 1300 Havelok 621 Lowerd, we sholen þe wel fede. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1439 Leue lord & ludes lesten to mi sawes! 15.. Adam Bel 467 in Hazl. E.P.P. II. 158 They sayed, lord we beseche the here, That ye wyll graunt vs grace. |
d. An owner, possessor, proprietor (of land, houses, etc.). Now only poet. or rhetorical. (Cf. landlord.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 601–602 Als oure lauerd has heuen in hand Sua suld man be lauerd of land. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. vii. 156 Amonges lowere lordes þi londe shal be departed. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 128 To mak me Lord of my awin. 1480 Waterf. Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 316 All suche lordes as have gutters betuxte thar houses. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxv. (1887) 125 Like two tenantes in one house belonging to seuerall lordes. a 1637 B. Jonson Sad Sheph. ii. i, A mightie Lord of Swine! Ibid., I am a Lord of other geere! 1674 Ray Collect. Words, Making Salt 142 Divers persons have interest in the Brine pit, so that it belongs not all to one Lord. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 189 Lord of few Acres, and those barren too. ― æneid xii. 535 Turnus..Wrench'd from his feeble hold the shining Sword; And plung'd it in the Bosom of its Lord. |
e. Mining. (See quot.)
| 1874 J. H. Collins Metal Mining Gloss., Lord, the owner of the land in which a mine is situated is called the ‘lord’. |
f. A ‘magnate’ in some particular trade. (Cf. king.) Often used with some transferred notion of sense 8.
| 1823, etc. [see cotton lord]. 1841 Cobden in Morley Life (1902) 28 The cotton lords are not more popular than the landlords. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 17 Jan. 10/1 A suspicion that the ‘coal-lords’ are hoarding their supplies. |
3. spec. A feudal superior; the proprietor of a fee, manor, etc. So lord of the manor (see manor); also, rhyming slang for ‘tanner’ (sixpence, now equal to 2½ pence); also (ellipt.) lord. lord mesne, lord paramount (see those words). † lord in gross (see quot. 1696, and cf. gross B. 2 e).
Lord of Ireland (Dominus Hiberniæ) was part of the official designation of the Kings of England from Henry II to Henry VII.
| a 1000 O.E. Chron. an. 924, Hine ᵹeces..to hlaforde Scotta cyning. 1258 Charter Hen. III in Tyrrell Hist. Eng. (1700) II. App. 25 Henry thurg Godes fultome King on Englene⁓loande Lhoauerd on Yrloand [etc.]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3662 Cadour erl of cornwayle..To þe king is louerd wende. 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 447/2 Savyng allwey to the Lorde of the Fee, eschates. 1435 Ibid. 487 Aswell the Lordes and ye Citezeins of Citees, as the Lordes and Burgeises. 1497 Act 12 Hen. VII, c. 12 Preamb., The Kyng of Scottis..ought..to..holde of you Sovereign Lorde his seid realme. 1530 Palsgr. 675/1 He was baylyffe of the towne, but the lorde hath put hym out. 1563 Homilies ii. Rogation Week iv. (1859) 496 The Lords records..be perverted..to the disinheriting of the right owner. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 110 The antient Family of Des Ewes, Dynasts or Lords of the dition of Kessell. 1696 Phillips (ed. 5), Lord in Gross, is he who is a Lord without a Mannor, as the King in respect of his Crown. 1778 Pryce Min. Cornub. 324 Lord of the land or fee. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 427 The lord may seise the copyhold to his own use. 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 77 The rights of the Lord of a town extended to the levying of tolls and customs. 1839 H. Brandon Poverty, Mendicity & Crime 163/2 Lord of the manor, sixpence. 1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 5/2 Lord of the Manor, sixpence. 1901 Speaker 11 May 149/2 It might have weakened the feudal relation between lord and tenant. 1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Nov. 782/1 Twenty years ago you might hear a sixpence described as a ‘Lord’ meaning ‘Lord of the Manor’; that is, a tanner. 1972 Lebende Sprachen XVII. 8/3 Lord of the Manor, tanner (old sixpence). |
4. A husband. Now only poet. and humorous. (Cf. lady n. 7.)
| 831 Charter in Sweet O.E. Texts 445 Ymbe ðet lond et cert ðe hire eðelmod hire hlabard salde. a 1225 Ancr. R. 52 Eue..nom & et þerof & ȝef hire louerd. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8902 Damaisele..þi louerd ssal abbe an name Vor him & vor is eirs vair wiþoute blame. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3918 Scho [Gaynore] kayres to Karelyone, and kawghte hir a vaile,..And alle for falsede, and frawde, and fere of hir louerde! 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. ii. 131 Tell these head⁓strong women What dutie they doe owe their Lords and husbands. 1681 Viscountess Campden in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 56 My Lady Skidmore and her lord was at Mr. Comsbys house upon a visette. 1860–6 Patmore Angel in Ho. ii. ii. iv, Love-mild Honoria, trebly mild With added loves of lord and child. 1861 C. M. Yonge Young Step-Mother xxv. 371 She was come to take leave of home, for her lord was not to be dissuaded from going to London by the evening's train. |
5. [Cf. 2 b.] Astrol. The planet that has a dominant influence over an event, period, region, etc.
| 1391 [see ascendant]. 1585 Lupton Thous. Notable Th. (1675) 93 When the Almuten or the Lord of the Ascendent is infortunate in his fall. 1653 R. Sanders Physiogn. 152 The Sun, when he is Alfridary or Lord of a Cholerick, he causeth him to be of a brown colour. 1819 Wilson Dict. Astrol., Lord, that planet is called the lord of a sign whose house it is... The lord of a house is that planet of which the sign or domal dignity is in the cusp of such house... The lord of the geniture is that planet which has most dignities in a figure... The lord of the hour is the planet supposed to govern the planetary hour at the moment of a nativity, or at the time of asking a horary question. The lord of the year is that planet which has most dignities, or is strongest in a revolutional figure... The lord of the geniture is..supposed to rule the disposition and propensities of the native. |
6. a. the Lord (vocatively Lord): God. Also (the) Lord God, and occas. my, thy, our (now rarely: see 7), his, etc. Lord. Cf. drightin.
In the O.T. the Lord, a translation of the Vulgate Dominus, LXX. ὁ κύριος, commonly represents the ineffable name yhwh (see Jehovah), for which Adonai was substituted by the Jews in reading; in a few instances Adonai occurs in the Hebrew text.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 562 Sy lof þam Hlaforde ðe leofað on ecnysse. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 71 Lauerd god we biddeð þus. c 1200 Vices & Virtues (1888) 7 Ðat ic am swiðe forȝelt aȝeanes mine laferde god almihtin. c 1200 Ormin 11391 Þe birrþ biforr þin Laferrd Godd Cneolenn meoclike & lutenn. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 33 To thaunen ðis werdes biginninge, ðe, leuerd god, to wurðinge. a 1300–1400 Cursor M. 6163 (Gött.) To moyses þan vr lauerd teld, Quat wise þai suld þair pask held. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 131 For to loue þi louerd leuere þen þiseluen. 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings xviii. 36 Lord God of Abraham, and of Ysaac, and of Yrael. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 164 Bi þe lord and þe lawe þat we onne leeue. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 2093 But the wey thedyrward to holde be we lothe, That oft sythe causeth the good Lorde to be wrothe. 1560 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 328 Be the lewing Lord, the eternal God..I do heir promise..that [etc.]. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. ii. 57 The breath of worldly men cannot depose The Deputie elected by the Lord. 1613 ― Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 161 The Lord increase this businesse. 1728 P. Walker Life Peden (1827) 45 At Bothwel-bridge..the Lord's People fell and fled before the Enemy. 1827 C. Simeon in Life (1847) 609 This is the Lord's work, and fit for a Sabbath-day. 1897 R. Kipling Recessional, Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet. |
b. Phrases. (the) Lord knows who, what, how, etc.: used flippantly to express emphatically one's own ignorance of a matter. Lord have mercy (on us): (a) in serious use, as a prayer (it used to be chalked on the door of a plague-stricken house); (b) in trivial use (vulgarly Lord-a-mercy and in other corrupt forms: cf. lawks), as an interjection expressing astonishment. Similarly (in trivial use only) Lord bless me. Also Lord (or lor') lumme (= lord love me).
† Lord have mercy on me, the ‘iliac passion’.
| 1585 Higins Junius' Nomenclator 433 Ileus..the Illiake passion..which the homelier sort of Phisicians doe call, Lorde haue mercy vpon me. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 419 Write, Lorde haue mercie on vs, on those three. 1592 Nashe Summers last Will 1706 Wks. (Grosart) VI. 153, I am sick, I must dye: Lord haue mercy on vs! c 1634 R. West in Randolph's Poems (1668) B 5, The Titles of their Satyrs fright some, more Then Lord have mercy writ upon a door. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccxlvi. (1708) 262 'Tis not a bare Lord have Mercy upon us, that will help the Cart out of the Mire. 1713 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa Wks. 1755 III. ii. 30 She was at lord knows what expence To form a nymph of wit and sense. 1722 ― Stella's Birthday ibid. 114 It cost me lord knows how much time To shape it into sense and rhyme. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. xxx, What became of him afterwards, Lord in heaven knows. 1784 H. Walpole Let. 8 June (1858) VIII. 480 Mr. Conway wonders why I do not talk of Voltaire's ‘Memoirs’. Lord bless me! I saw it two months ago. 1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress V. 159 There she died. Lord-a-mercy upon those that had a hand in such a business. 1830 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) I. 253 Meetings to be called by the Lord Lieutenant,..and the Lord knows who. 1846 Mrs. Gore Sk. Eng. Char. (1852) 33 People comprised under the comprehensive designation of ‘the Lord knows who’. 1888 J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge I. iii. 49 Lord a mercy, is that how she talks? 1902 E. Nesbit Five Children & It ii. 61 ‘Lor' lumme,’ said Billy Peasemarsh, ‘if there ain't another on 'em!’ 1903 J. London People of Abyss i. 8 Lord lumme, but it'll be the last I see af you if yer don't py me. Ibid. iv. 31 ‘Lor' lumme,’ she laughed. |
c. As interjection; a mere exclamation of surprise originating from the use in invocations. (Cf. lor, lud.)
Now only in profane or trivial use; in 14–16th c. often employed in dignified and even religious writing.
| c 1384 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 358 Lord! in tyme of Jesus Crist..were men not bounden to shryve hem þus. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 298 O lord, whi is it so greet difference betwix a cirurgian & a phisician. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 161 Lorde how glad the poore people were of this Pardone. 1560–77 Misogonus iii. iii. 69 (Brandl) O Leard, Leard, wone woude take him for a foole by his gowne and his capp. 1564–78 W. Bullein Dial. agst. Pest. (1888) 10 Lorde God, howe are you chaunged! 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iii. i. 50 O Lord I must laugh. 1632 Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry iv. i, O Lard, hee has made me smell (for all the world) like [etc.]. 1687 Congreve Old Bach. ii. iii, Lard, Cousin, you talk odly. 1721 Amherst Terræ Fil. No. 44 (1754) 236 Lawd! lawd! Dick, what shall's zay to our Kate, for leaving her at whome? 1741 Richardson Pamela (1824) I. 177 Laud, madam,..I wonder you so much disturb yourself. 1792 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Odes to Gt. Duke vii. Wks. 1792 III. 10 Lord! what a buying, reading, what a racket! 1837 Marryat P. Keene xxii, Lord, what a state I shall be in till I know what has taken place. |
7. a. As a title of Jesus Christ. Commonly our Lord (now often with capital O); also the Lord.
| a 1175 Cott. Hom. 243 Ure laford ihesu crist þe seið Sine me nichil potestis facere. c 1200 Ormin Ded. 186 Forr an godnesse uss hafeþþ don þe Laferrd Crist onn erþe. c 1200 Vices & Virtues (1888) 7 Ac bidde we alle ure lauerd Crist. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 644 Lauerd, wune wið me. a 1300 Cursor M. 28088 To my lard ic am of-sene to crist ic haue vn-buxum bene. a 1300 Crede in Maskell Mon. Rit. II. 240 Ihesu Krist [h]is anelepi sone, hure laverd. c 1400 Lay Folks Mass Bk. App. iii. 125 Þou art a sooþfaste leche, lord. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xc. 3 Oure Lorde Jhesu..Fastit him self oure exampill to be. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 113 And it happened in the night of the Assencion of our lorde, that Pothon..issued outof Champeigne. 1579 E. K. Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Gen. Argt. §4 Our..eternall redeemer the L. Christ. 1653 W. Basse in Walton's Angler iii. 81 For so our Lord was pleased, when He Fishers made Fishers of men. 1823 Bentham Not Paul 26 He informs the Lord what he had heard about Paul. 1882 Tennyson In Mem. W. G. Ward, How loyal in the following of thy Lord! |
b. (in) the year of our Lord († God), † of our Lord's incarnation: = Anno Domini.
| 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 89 In ye ȝere of houre louerde a Thousande yre hundred sixti and seuene. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 19 The day and the yeer of oure lord of my departyng from this wourld. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 208 b, This was in the yere of our lordes blessed incarnacion .M.C.lxx. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. v. 268 marg., King Achai dies the ȝeir..of our Lourd 819. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xi. 154 In the yeere of our Lord God, one thousand five hundred seaventy nine. 1625 Purchas Pilgrims ii. 1705 In the yeare of our Lord God 1567. |
c. In certain syntactical combinations: the Lord's Prayer [= L. oratio Dominica], the prayer taught by Jesus to His disciples: see Matt. vi. 9–13. the Lord's Supper [= L. cena Dominica, Gr. τὸ κυριακὸν δεῖπνον 1 Cor. xi. 24], the Holy Communion. the Lord's Table [= Gr. τραπέζα κυρίου 1 Cor. x. 21: cf. God's, the Lord's board (see board n. 6)] = altar 2 b; also the Holy Communion. Also Lord's Day.
| 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Public Baptism, The Crede, *the Lordes prayer, and the tenne commaundementes. 1646 J. Hall Poems i. 13 [She] makes one single farthing bear The Creed, Commandments and Lords-prayer. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. II. xxx. 248 She had never learned the Lord's prayer in English. |
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xi. 20 Therfore ȝou comynge to gidere into oon, now it is not for to ete *the Lordis sopere. 1555 Ridley (title) A brief Declaracion Of the Lordes Supper. 1645 Fuller Good Th. in Bad T. (1646) 141 The Lords Supper, ordained by our Saviour to conjoyn our Affections, hath disjoyned our Judgements. 1755 Chamberlayne Pres. St. Gr. Brit. ii. ii. (ed. 17) 75 Some Time before the Lord's Supper is administred, the Congregation is to have Notice of it from the Pulpit. |
| 1535 Coverdale 1 Cor. x. 21 Ye cannot be partetakers off *the lordes table, and off the table off deuyls. 1660 Jer. Taylor Worthy Commun. i. §1. 22 It [the Holy Sacrament] is by the Spirit of God called..the Lord's Table. 1704 Nelson Fest. & Fasts ii. iv. (1707) 494 Upon the Penalty of being excluded from the Lord's Table. 1852 Hook Ch. Dict. (1871) 467 The Lord's Table is one of the names given to the altar in Christian churches. |
II. As a designation of rank or official dignity.
In these applications it is not used vocatively, exc. in the form my Lord (see 15) and as a prefixed title (see 13).
8. a. In early use employed vaguely for any man of exalted position in a kingdom or commonwealth, and in a narrower sense applied to the feudal tenants holding directly of the king by military or other honourable service: see baron 1. In modern use, equivalent to nobleman in its current sense: A peer (usually, a temporal peer) of the realm, or one who by courtesy (see 13) is entitled to the prefix Lord, or some higher title, as a part of his ordinary appellation.
| 13.. Coer de L. 2284 We are betrayd and y-nome! Horse and harness, lords, all and some! c 1350 Will. Palerne 4539 To fare out as fast with his fader to speke & with lordesse [= lordes] of þat lond. 1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 225/1 To the moost noble and worthiest Lordes, moost ryghtful and wysest Conseille to owre lige Lorde the Kyng. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 442 Men myghten lordis knowe By there arraye, from oþir folke. 1453 Rolls of Parlt. V. 266/2 If such persone bee of the estate of a Lord, as Duc, Marques, Erle, Viscount or Baron. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. iii. (1520) 26/1 It was denyed hym..by the instygacyon of a lord called Pompei. 1505 in Mem. Hen. VII (Rolls) 276 What attendance he hath abouts hym of lords and nobles of his reame. 1548 Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 25 For ever sence the Prelates were made Loordes and nobles the ploughe standeth. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 19 Princes, and Noble Lords: What answer shall I make to this base man? 1614 Selden Titles Hon. 59 Our English name Lord, whereby we and the Scots stile all such as are of the Greater Nobilitie i. Barons, as also Bishops. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey iii. iii, The Marquess played off the two Lords and Sir Berdmore against his former friend. 1876 Browning Shop v, He's social, takes his rest On Sundays, with a Lord for guest. 1900 Daily Express 21 July 5/7 The Englishman of to-day still dearly loves a lord. |
b. Phrases. to live like a lord: to fare luxuriously. to treat (a person) like a lord: to entertain sumptuously, to treat with profound deference. drunk as a lord: completely intoxicated; so † to drink like a lord. Similarly, to swear like a lord.
| 1531 Elyot Gov. i. xxvi. (1880) I. 275 For they wyll say he that swereth depe, swereth like a lorde. 1623 Middleton & Rowley Sp. Gipsy iv. i. (1653) F 4, Flowre bancks or Mosse be thy bourd, Water thy wine, San. And drinke like a Lord. 1651 Evelyn Charact. Eng. (1659) 48 The Gentlemen are most of them very intemperate, yet the Proverb goes, ‘As drunk as a Lord’. 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 6 (1713) I. 36 They were as drunk as Lords with Bottle-Air. 1770 Gentl. Mag. XL. 560 As drunk as a Lord. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas ii. vii. ¶3 The landlord..said,..we will treat you like a lord. 1861 Thackeray B. Lyndon xviii. (1869) 254 She ran screaming through the galleries, and I, as tipsy as a lord, came staggering after. 1892 Sir W. Harcourt Speech 20 Apr., We had changed that now, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer lived like a lord. |
† c. occas. A baron as distinguished from one of higher rank. Obs. (Cf. 13.)
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 7 b, Farre excellyng y⊇ state of lordes, erles, dukes or kynges. |
d. lord-in-waiting, lord of the bedchamber: the designation given to noblemen holding certain offices in attendance on the person of the sovereign.
| 1717 H. Pelham in Lett. C'tess Suffolk (1824) I. 18 The King forbad the lord of the bedchamber inviting Lord Townshend..to dine with him at Newmarket. 1755 Gentl. Mag. XXV. 184 His majesty went to the house of peers, attended by..the ld of the bedchamber in waiting. 1860 W. G. Clark in Vac. Tour 45 Furniture..the property, I suppose, of gold⁓sticks, and..lords-in-waiting. a 1865 Greville Mem. ii. (1885) II. 44 She had already given orders to the Lord-in-waiting to put all the Ministers down to whist. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 37/2 There are eight lords and eight grooms,..described as ‘of the bedchamber’ or ‘in waiting’, according as the reigning sovereign is a king or a queen. |
9. a. pl. the Lords: the peers, temporal and spiritual, as constituting the higher of the two bodies composing the legislature (of England, Scotland, and Ireland, when they existed as separate kingdoms; afterwards of the kingdom of Great Britain; and now of the United Kingdom). the Lords Temporal: the lay peers. the Lords Spiritual: the bishops who are peers of the realm, and (in England before the Reformation) the mitred abbots. the Lords' Act (see quot. 1800).
This branch of the legislature now consists of the English noblemen of baronial rank, the English bishops (with some exceptions), and elected representatives of the peers of Scotland and Ireland.
| 1451 Paston Lett. I. 204 To make requisicion..to the Lords espirituallx and temporelx in this present Parlement assembled. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 349 The Lordes of the upper house, and the common house assembled together. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. x. vii. §1 The House of Commons presented to the Lords Spirituall and Temporall a Petition. 1675 Marvell Corr. ccliv. Wks. 1872–5 II. 474 To desire the Lords concurrence herein. 1751 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) II. 388 In the Lords there were but 12 to 106, and the former the most inconsiderable men in that House. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. 50 The legislature of the kingdom is entrusted to three distinct powers,..first, the king; secondly, the lords spiritual and temporal. 1800 Asiat. Ann. Reg., State Papers 7/1 Rules for extending to insolvent debtors the relief intended by act 32 Geo. II. commonly called ‘The Lords' Act’. 1812 Moore Intercepted Lett. ii. 47 Quite upturning branch and root Lords, Commons, and Burdétt to boot. 1830 Croly Geo. IV 218 An embassage from the lords and commons was sent with them from London. a 1865 Greville Mem. ii. (1885) II. 408 He got the House of Commons to sit on Saturday,..in order to send the Bill up to the Lords on Monday. 1879 M{supc}Carthy Hist. Own Times (1887) II. 257 The Lords..suspended the sitting until eleven at night. 1884 S. Dowell Tax. & Taxes Eng. II. 303 The duke of Wellington leading in the Lords. 1897 Ouida Massarenes iv, Don't suppose I shall ever live to get into the Lords. |
b. House of Lords, † Lords' House (see house n. 4 d). Also (slang.), a lavatory.
| 1672 Petty Pol. Anat. (1691) 35 [They] may..be call'd by Writ into the Lords House of England. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 332 This case having been heard in the House of Lords, the Judges were directed to give their opinions. 1845 Polson Eng. Law in Encycl. Metrop. II. 811/1 The House of Lords is in the habit of referring certain bills to the opinion of the learned judges. 1961 in Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1139/1. 1967 Listener 21 Dec. 802/2 In between you have the Business Man Jocular: ‘I say, where's the geography, old son?’ or ‘When you need the House of Lords, it's through there.’ 1969 J. Alexander Where have All Flowers Gone? i. 46 Half way up the stairs there was a lavatory... ‘The House of Lords,’ said Jake. |
† c. transf. in Rom. Hist. = Senators. Obs.
| 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 212 The Knights, and Gentle⁓men of Rome separated themselves from the Lords. |
10. Sc. In various collocations (chiefly Hist.), as Lords of the Articles, Lords of the Congregation, Lords of Daily Council, Lords of Justiciary, Lords of Police, Lords of Regality, Lords of Session (see these ns.).
11. Applied, with subjoined defining word or phrase, to the individual members (whether peers or not) of a Board appointed to perform the duties of some high office of state that has been put in commission, as in Lords Commissioners (in ordinary language simply Lords) of the Admiralty, Lords of the Treasury; Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal. Also Lords Justices (of Ireland): the Commissioners to whom, in the early 18th c., the viceregal authority was entrusted. Civil Lord: the one civilian member (besides the First Lord) of the Board of Admiralty, the others being Naval Lords.
| 1642 C. Vernon Consid. Exch. 54 Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 16 May, Three books I got from the Lords of the Treasury for the college. 1724 ― Drapier's Lett. Wks. 1755 V. ii. 38 As if it were a dispute between William Wood on the one part, and the lords justices, privy-council, and both houses of parliament on the other. 1739 Lady Murray Mem. Baillies (1822) 24 He was made one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and soon after one of the Lords of the Treasury. 1759 Dilworth Pope 72 He was one of the lord-justices of Ireland. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 151 The Lords Commissioners in Barnes v. Crowe appeared to have held, that [etc.]... Lord Commissioner Eyre stated the particular circumstances. 1834 Marryat P. Simple xxxix, A letter from your lordship to the First Lord—, only a few lines. 1879 M{supc}Carthy Hist. Own Times (1887) II. 409 Mr. Gathorne Hardy was made Secretary for War and Mr. Ward Hunt First Lord of the Admiralty. 1884 S. Dowell Tax. & Taxes Eng. II. 116 George Grenville as a junior lord of the admiralty. 1893 Maxwell W. H. Smith II. 182 He..became First Lord of the Treasury and leader of the House of Commons. 1898 Hazell's Ann. 447 The Works Department of the Admiralty is presided over by officers of the Royal Engineers, its supervision resting with the civil lord. |
12. a. Forming part of various official titles, e.g. Lord (High) Admiral, Lord Chamberlain, Lord (High) Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, Lord High Commissioner, Lord Deputy, Lord Marshal, Lord President, Lord Privy Seal, Lord Treasurer, Lord Warden, etc., for which see the second member in each case. † Lord (High) General, a commander-in-chief (obs.). Lord-rector, an honorary title for the elected chief in certain Scotch Universities; hence Lord-rectorship. Also Lord-lieutenant, Lord Mayor.
| 1598 Barret Theor. Warres iv. i. 116 [The Colonel] ought to know how to performe the parts and office of a Lord high Generall. 1650 Whitelocke Mem. (1853) III. 207 (25 June) The lord general Fairfax. Ibid. 237 (7 July) The council of state ordered the narrative made by the lord general's [Cromwell's] messenger to be read in all churches. 1660 [see 15 a]. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) II. x. 287 The parliament having given him [Monk] a commission as lord-general of all the forces in the three kingdoms. 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. v. 249 Hence the catalogue of Lord Rectors soars far above respectability and appropriateness: it is brilliant. 1867 Nation (N.Y.) 3 Jan. 4/2 The candidates for the lord-rectorship of Aberdeen University this next year are Mr. Grote, historian, and Mr. Grant Duff. |
b. In ceremonious use, prefixed to the titles of bishops, whether peers of parliament or not.
| 1639 (title) A Relation of the Conference between William Lawd..now Lord-Arch-Bishop of Canterbury: and Mr. Fisher the Jesuite. a 1673 W. Blaxton in Bp. L. Coleman Ch. Amer. ii. 23, I came from England because I did not like the lord-bishops, but I cannot join with you, because I would not be under the lord-brethren. 1858 Royal Charter University Lond. §5 The Lord Bishop Maltby; the Lord Bishop of St. Davids. |
† c. Formerly sometimes prefixed to a title of nobility. Obs.; but see 15 a (c).
| 1444 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 13 Quhat time it be plessand to the said Lord Erle [of Orkynnay]. |
d. Lord of the Flies, a name for Beelzebub [tr. Heb. ba'al-zĕbhūbh: see Beelzebub]; also, used allusively of the book (1954) by William Golding (1911– ) of the same name, in which a group of schoolboys marooned on an uninhabited tropical island revert to savagery and primitive ritual. (Use in quot. 1971 is joc.)
| 1931 A. Huxley Cicadas 37 But 'tis the shitten Lord of Flies Who with his loathsome bounties now fulfils On us their prayers. 1948 ― Ape & Essence (1949) 69 Such..is the inscrutable justice of the Lord of Flies. Ibid. 90 The Lord of Flies, who is also the Blowfly in every individual heart. 1965 Listener 24 June 933/1 The ship's figurehead.., removed from its place by the children, becomes a kind of Lord of the Flies. 1967 J. Blackburn Flame & Wind ii. 72 Beelzebub—the Lord of the Flies—the Prince of the Hebrew devils. 1969 I. & P. Opie Children's Games 13 Such accounts..have..influenced educational practice..leading us to believe that a Lord of the Flies mentality is inherent in the young. 1971 Guardian 9 Feb. 8/4 Instead of the orgasmic moment, we arrive at Mr Neville's playtime: the lord of the flies. |
13. a. As a prefixed title, forming part of a person's customary appellation. Abbreviated Ld., formerly † L. (pl. LL.), Lo.
The rules now accepted for its use are as follows. In other than strictly ceremonial use it may be substituted for ‘Marquis’, ‘Earl’, or ‘Viscount’ (whether denoting the rank of a peer, or applied ‘by courtesy’ to the eldest son of a peer of higher rank); the word of, when it occurs in the more formal designation, being dropped. Thus ‘Lord Hartington’, ‘Lord Derby’, ‘Lord Manvers’, ‘Lord Palmerston’, may be used instead of ‘The Marquis of Hartington’, ‘The Earl of Derby’, ‘Earl Manvers’, ‘Viscount Palmerston’. A baron (whether a peer, or a peer's eldest son known by the title of his father's barony) is always called by his title of peerage (either a surname or a territorial designation) preceded by ‘Lord’, as ‘Lord Tennyson’; if the Christian name is mentioned for distinction, it comes first, as ‘Alfred, Lord Tennyson’. The territorial titles given by courtesy to judges in Scotland are treated like those of barons, as ‘Lord Monboddo’. The younger sons of dukes and marquises have the courtesy title of ‘Lord’ followed by the Christian name and surname, as ‘Lord John Russell’. These rules were, for the most part, already formulated in the 16th c., but were for a long time seldom accurately observed except by experts in heraldry.
In early use the prefixed title had most commonly the form my Lord (see 15) or the Lord. The latter survives in certain formal uses, and in the superscription of letters.
| 1455 Rolls of Parlt. V. 332/2 William Bonvyle Knyght, Lord Bonevile, his servauntes and adheraunts. 15.. Bk. of Precedence in Q. Eliz. Acad. 27 All marquises Eldest sonnes are named no Earles, but lord of a place or barrony... And all his other bretheren Lordes, with the addition of there Christoned name. An Earles Eldest sonn is called a lord of a place or Baron[y], and all his other sonnes no lords. 1545 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 214 George Erle of Huntlie, Lord Gordoun and of Bangzenocht. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 294 Also on the French part the Lorde John Cleremount fought under his awne Banner. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 61–64 Valiant Lord Talbot Earle of Shrewsbury: Created..Lord Talbot of Goodrig and Vrchinfield, Lord Strange of Blackmere, Lord Verdon of Alton [etc.]. 1593 ― Rich. II, ii. ii. 53 The L. Northumberland. 1636 Trussell Contn. Daniel's Hist. Eng. 93 Sir Iohn Oldcastle in right of his Wife called in courtesie Lord Cobham. 1781 (title) The Trial of the Right Honourable George Gordon, commonly called, Lord George Gordon. a 1865 Greville Mem. ii. (1885) II. 171, I dined with Lord and Lady Frederick FitzClarence and Lord Westmoreland. Ibid. iii. 458 Whether Lord Derby or Lord any⁓body else is in office. 1879 M{supc}Carthy Hist. Own Times (1887) II. 405 Mr. Bruce was raised to the Peerage as Lord Aberdare. |
b. the Lord Harry: see harry 6.
c. Lord Derby, a large green and yellow-skinned variety of cooking apple, or the tree that produces it.
| 1876–85 Hogg & Bull Herefordshire Pomona II. plate 73 Lord Derby. The origin of this apple is unknown. It has probably been cultivated in the orchards for some years, without special notice. 1933 Hall & Crane Apple ii. 27 Some varieties, like Lord Derby, have a markedly upright habit. 1962 Listener 27 Sept. 495/1, I am thinking of cooking apples like..that good old-fashioned one, Lord Derby. 1966 C. R. Thompson Pruning Apple Trees ii. 194 There are a few varieties from which large apples are wanted early in the season, such as early Victoria and Lord Derby. |
14. Jocular uses. a. As a mock title of dignity given to the person appointed to preside on certain festive occasions. So Lord of Christmas (see Christmas 4), Lord of Misrule (see misrule), Summer Lord, etc. (obs. exc. Hist.), Harvest Lord (see harvest n. 7).
| 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 73 Item the iiij{supt}{suph} day of January [1551–2] the lorde of Crystmas of the kynges howse came thorrow London..to the lorde mayer's to denner. 1571 Grindal Injunc. at York C iij, The Minister & churchwardens shall not suffer any Lordes of misrule or Sommer Lordes..to come vnreuerently into any Church [etc.]. 1628 in Crt. & Times Chas. I (1848) I. 311 On Saturday last, the Templars chose one Mr. Palmes..their lord of misrule. 1806 Bloomfield Wild Flowers Poems (1845) 217 Many a Lord, Sam, I know that, Has begg'd as well as thee. |
b. slang. A hunchback. (Cf. lord-fish.)
The origin of this use is obscure, but there is no reason for doubting the identity of the word. The Dict. Canting Crew has a parallel sense of Lady.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Lord, a very crooked, deformed..Person. 1725 in New Cant. Dict. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. xxviii, His pupil..was..on account of his hump, distinguished by the title of My Lord. 1817 Neuman Eng.-Sp. Dict. (ed. 3), Lord..8 (Joc.) Hombre jorobado. 1826 Lamb Elia ii. Pop. Fallacies, That a deformed person is a lord. 1887 Besant The World went I. iii. 86 He was, in appearance, short and bent, with rounded shoulders, and with a hump (which made the boys call him My Lord). |
c. Lord Muck, a pompous self-opinionated man (see quot. 1966). slang.
| 1937 in Partridge Dict. Slang 539/1. 1955 J. Thomas No Banners xxix. 287 Hey, Lord Muck! May we have the honour of introducing ourselves! 1966 ‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 63 Lord Muck of Muck Hall, a bombastic person; a swollen-headed man who likes to asserts his authority. |
15. my Lord (usually pronounced (mɪˈlɔːd). a. Prefixed to a name or title. (a) Formerly the ordinary prefix used in speaking to or of a nobleman, where we now commonly use simply ‘Lord’ (see 13); in early use the preposition of before territorial designations was commonly retained. (Now only arch.) (b) my Lord of (London, Canterbury, etc.): a respectful mode of referring to a bishop (obs. or arch.). (c) Prefixed to a title of rank or office; now only vocatively, as in my Lord Mayor, my Lord Duke, my Lord Marquis.
| c 1440 York Myst. xvii. 73 Mi lorde ser Herowde! a 1470 Gregory in Hist. Coll. Lond. Cit. (Camden) 230 The mater was put to my Lorde of London. 1481–90 Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 321 The same day, my Lord rekened with his lokyer. 1530 Palsgr. 433/2, I am somoned by a sergent at armes to apere byfore my lorde chaunceller. 1533 T. Cromwell Let. 25 July in C.'s Life & Lett. (1902) I. 385 My Lorde Abbot I recommende me vnto you [etc.]. c 1560 Satir. Poems Reform. xxviii. 57 Than my Lord Arrane from Albany ye Duke Obtenit the gift of Murray. 1561 Stanford Churchw. Acc. in Antiquary XVII. 168/1 At my lorde of Sarums commandment. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 104 May a bishop be called..by the name of ‘my Lord bishop, my Lords grace’. 1584 Leycesters Commonw. (1641) 68 By your opinion my Lord of Leycester is the most learned of all his kindred. 1613 Spelman De non Temer. Eccl. (1646) 23 My Lord Coke also in the second part of his Reports, saith, that [etc.]. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. (1640) i. 199 A petition to my Lords Grace of Canterbury. 1660 Pepys Diary 3 Mar., My Lord General Fleetwood told my Lord that he feared the King of Sweden is dead. 1679 Evelyn Mem. 5 Nov., I was invited to dine at my Lord Tividale's. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 17 ¶4 The Courage and Capacity of my Lord Galway. 1742 Fielding J. Andrews Pref. ¶8, I apprehend, my Lord Shaftesbury's Opinion of mere Burlesque agrees with mine. |
b. Used separately. (a) As the usual polite or respectful form of address to a nobleman under the rank of duke, and to a bishop; also (now only by persons greatly inferior in position) in speaking of them. (b) As the formal mode of address to a Lord Mayor, a Lord Provost, and to the Lord Advocate (Scotland). (c) In courts of law used in addressing a judge of the Supreme Court (or, formerly, a judge of any of the ‘superior courts’ now merged in this); in Scotland and Ireland in addressing a judge of any of the superior courts.
The hurried or affected pronunciation prevalent in the courts of law has often been derisively represented by the spelling my Lud or m'lud (see lud).
| 1543 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 190 My lord, we recommend our hartlie and humil seruice vnto your lordschip. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 294 [Beatrice to Don Pedro] So I would not he should do me, my Lord. 1601 Munday Downf. Earl Huntingdon ii. ii. (1828) 34 Robin. What, Much and John! well met in this ill time. Little John. In this good time my lord. 1789 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Subj. for Painters 28 ‘Bravissimo! my Lor’, replied Squalind. 1830 N. S. Wheaton Jrnl. 198, I could not help noticing the affected way in which they [H. of Lords clerks] pronounce the words My Lord..as if they were written My Lud. 1870 Dickens E. Drood iv, He has been spoken to in the street as My Lord, under the impression that he was the Bishop. 1893 Sir A. Gordon Earl Aberdeen 191 The minister..turned to the loft in which ‘my Lord’ was seated. |
c. As nonce-vb., to ‘my lord’ (a person).
| 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. iii. vi, Who ever saw any Lord my-lorded in tattered blanket, fastened with wooden skewer? 1868 Yates Rock Ahead i. viii, His tenant..would..‘My lord’ him until the wine had done its work. |
d. pl. my lords: (a) the usual form of address to a number of noblemen or bishops, and in courts of law to two or more of the superior judges sitting together; (b) in the official correspondence of a department of state, used as a collective designation for the ministers composing it.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxix. 1 My Lordis of Chacker, pleis ȝow to heir My coumpt. 1555 Ridley in Coverd. Lett. Martyrs (1564) 101 My Lordes, if in times past ye haue [etc.]. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 16 My Lords, We were fore-warned of your comming. 1727 Pope etc. Art of Sinking 122 Separate divisions for the two houses of parliament, my lords the judges, &c. 1871 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. Aug. 495 Speedily got himself into hot water with ‘my lords’ at Whitehall. |
III. 16. attrib. or appositive, and in Comb., as lord-lover, lord-suitor; lord-hating, lord-loving, lord-ridden adjs.; lord and lady (duck) N. Amer., a pair of harlequin duck, Histrionicus histrionicus; lord-breed nonce-wd., a breed or race of lords; lord-farmer, one who holds an episcopal manor by a rent paid to the bishop; † lords' room, app. a room or compartment on the stage of a theatre, reserved for privileged spectators.
| 1770 G. Cartwright Jrnl. 29 July (1792) I. 20, I shot four eider ducks, and seven *lords and ladies. 1835 E. Wix Six Months Newfoundland Missionary's Jrnl. (1836) 162, I had a fine view of a patch fox in my walk, saw several seals, and some of those very beautiful birds, called by the people of Newfoundland ‘lords and ladies’. 1930 Canad. Geogr. Jrnl. I. 32/2 The Harlequin Duck..is known to trappers and prospectors in the far west as ‘Lord and Lady Duck’. 1959 W. L. McAtee Folk-Names Canad. Birds (ed. 2) 16 Harlequin Duck [is also called] lord and lady (Usually in the plural, ‘lords and ladies’. In allusion to the handsome plumage.) |
| 1862 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) II. 385 Ablest men are continually raised to the peerage, and get crossed with the older *Lord-breeds. |
| 1718 R. Frampton in T. Evans Life (1876) 161 The *lord farmer there had been offering a small fine to renew with the two preceding Bishops who both refused. 1777 Town & Country Mag. June 335 Death. John Shadwell, Esq.; lord-farmer of Horfield manor, in Somersetshire. |
| 1828 Blackw. Mag. XXIII. 384 The *lord⁓hating gang to which he..appertains. |
| 1855 Tennyson Maud i. xxii. v, O young *lord-lover, what sighs are those, For one that will never be thine? |
| 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Char. Wks. (Bohn) II. 63 The conservative, money⁓loving, *lord-loving English are yet liberty-loving. |
| 1849 R. Cobden in Morley Life (1902) xviii. 68/2 A servile aristocracy-loving, *lord-ridden people. |
| 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. ii. i, Hee powres them out as familiarly, as if hee had tane Tabacco with them ouer the stage, in the *Lords roome. 1609 Dekker Guls Horne-bk. vi. 28 Let our Gallant..presently aduance himselfe vp to the Throne of the Stage, I meane not into the Lords roome (which is now but the Stages Suburbes). |
| 1868 Browning Ring & Bk. iv. 471 He likes to have *lord-suitors lounge. |
▪ II. lord, v.
(lɔːd)
Also 3–4 laverd.
[f. lord n.]
1. intr. † a. To exercise lordship, have dominion.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter cii[i]. 19 Laverd in heven graiþed sete his, And his rike til alle sal Laverd [Vulg. dominabitur] in blis. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. i. 8 Metridates whiche lorded vpon xxiiij. contrees. |
b. To play the lord; to behave in a lordly manner, assume airs of grandeur; to rule tyrannically, domineer. Now rare exc. const. over.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 84 Þe more he..lordeth in londes þe lasse good he deleth. 1548 Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 24 For they [the Apostles] preached and lorded not. And nowe they lorde and preache not. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Dec. 70 The grieslie Tode-stoole groune there mought I se, And loathed Paddocks lording on the same. 1594 ― Amoretti x, She lordeth in licentious blisse Of her freewill. 1633 P. Fletcher Elisa ii. vii, Her..sister..Alicia, in whose face Love proudly lorded. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. vi. Wks. 1851 III. 124 The hatefull thirst of Lording in the Church..first bestow'd a being upon Prelaty. 1671 ― Samson 265 They had by this..lorded over them whom now they serve. 1685 Dryden tr. Lucretius iii. 242 That haughty King, who lorded ore the Main,..Him Death, a greater Monarch, overcame. 1777 Burke Address King Wks. 1842 II. 402 Much less are we desirous of lording over our brethren. 1833 Chalmers Const. Man (1835) I. iii. 156 Its unhappy patient is lorded over by a power of moral evil. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) I. xiv. 151 Methinks, instead of in the forest lording, The noble Sir should [etc.]. 1881 Blackmore Christowell xxxi, I am not one to be lorded over by a man no better than myself. |
c. So to lord it, chiefly with over.
| 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 176 They..lord it as they list. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. viii. 44, I see them Lording it in London streets. 1638 Penit. Conf. vii. (1657) 145 Lording it over the Consciences of the people. a 1704 T. Brown Praise Drunkenness Wks. 1730 I. 37 She [drunkenness] lords it over Poland, Sweden and Norway. a 1716 South Serm. (1823) V. 409 Though reason and judgment would veil to Christ, yet the man does not, because his affections lord it. 1775 F. Burney Let. Nov. in Early Diary, He disdains submitting to the great or Lording it over the little. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk., Rip Van Winkle ¶1 The Kaatskill mountains..are seen..swelling up to a noble height and lording it over the surrounding country. 1855 Tyndall in Lett. Educ. 192 We lord it over Matter, and in so doing have become better acquainted with the laws of Mind. 1900 Q. Rev. Oct. 337 This barbarian..lorded it over many waters from the Canaries to Candia. |
2. trans. To be or act as lord of; to control, manage, rule. rare.
| c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxviii. xxii, [Their] heritage he shared to the race..of godly Israell, To lord their lands. Ibid. cvi. xv, [God] Left them to be..Lorded by foes. 1691 J. Wilson Belphegor i. ii, Simple Merit Lords few Mens Horoscope. 1807 J. Barlow Columb. v. 660 Austria's titled hordes, with their own gore, Fat the fair fields they lorded long before. 1818 Keats Endym. ii. 894 The look Of his white palace..And all the revels he had lorded there. |
3. † a. To make (a man) a lord or master. b. To confer the title of lord upon; to ennoble.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xviii. 14 If þai ware noght lordid of me [Mistransl.: L. si mei non fuerunt dominati]. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 97 He being thus Lorded, did beleeue He was indeed the Duke. 1643 Wither Campo Musæ 69 Ev'ry one of those That hath for any services, beene Lorded. 1720 Humor. Lett. Lond. Jrnl. (1721) 16 Thou shalt be told..Who gets an Estate in the Alley, and is afterward Knighted or Lorded. 1787 Minor 307 Sir Cadwallader Pleadwell..has been lately Lorded. 1889 Furnivall in Pall Mall G. 14 Dec. 1/3 It was with no little pleasure then that I found Lord Tennyson (before he was lorded) making me known..to Mr. Robert Browning. |
c. To address or speak of as ‘Lord’.
| 1636 Rutherford Lett. lx. (1862) I. 161 My newly printed book against Arminians was one challenge: not lording the prelates was another. 1656 S. H. Golden Law 92 Is not Sarah commended for obeying, and lording her husband? 1660 Charac. Italy 56 Before they merit the degree of Knighthood, they must be Lorded. |