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lord

noun
/lɔːd/UK/lɔɹd/US

Etymology

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 (“bread”) + weard (“guardian”); 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 hlāf-ǣta (“servant”, literally “bread-eater”), and modern English lady, from Old English hlǣfdīġe (“bread-kneader”). The Middle English word laford was borrowed by Icelandic, where it survives as lávarður. Doublet of hlaford and laird.

  1. inherited from hlāford
  2. inherited from lord

Definitions

  1. The master of the servants of a household

    The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor

    • Bleſſed is that ſeruant, whome his Lord when he commeth, ſhal finde ſo doing.
    • Por. ...But now, I was the Lord of this faire manſion, maiſter of my ſeruants, Queene oer my ſelfe[…]
    • Lords of manors are distinguished from other land-owners with regard to the game.

  2. One possessing similar mastery over others

    One possessing similar mastery over others; (historical) 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)

    • It is a pytuouse case... whan subjectes rebell agaynst their naturall lorde.
    • Man over men He made not Lord.

  3. One possessing similar mastery in figurative senses (esp. as lord of ~)

    • O wityng bath god and ill Ȝee suld be lauerds at ȝour will.
    • The sonne is the lorde of planetes.
    • Love is Lord of all.
  4. ›+ 17 more definitions

    1. The heavenly body considered to possess a dominant influence over an event, time, etc.

    2. A hunchback.

      • Lord, a very crooked, deformed... Person.

    3. Sixpence.

      • Twenty years ago you might hear a sixpence described as a ‘Lord’ meaning ‘Lord of the Manor’; that is, a tanner.

    4. To domineer or act like a lord.

      • The grisly toadstool grown there might I see, / And loathed paddocks lording on the same.

    5. To invest with the dignity, power, and privileges of a lord

      To invest with the dignity, power, and privileges of a lord; to grant the title of lord.

      • He being thus lorded / Not only with what my revenue yielded, / But what my power might else exact, […] / he did believe / He was indeed the Duke

    6. The Abrahamic deity of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.

      • The breath of worldly men cannot depose, The deputy elected by the Lord.
      • Their act emphasized their acceptance of Islam as their new allegiance and the forsaking of the true and Living God, Jehovah (the LORD), with devotion to the moon god idol Allah. Abram was given a new name, as well, by the LORD.

    7. Jesus Christ, God the Son.

      • Therfore I doe you to vnderſtand that no má ſpeaking in the Spirit of God, ſaith anáthema to IESVS. And no man can ſay, Our Lord IESVS: but in the holy Ghoſt.
      • How loyal in the following of thy Lord!

    8. Any other deity particularly important to a religion or a worshipper.

      • ...and our Lord [the Horned God] as Master, Father, and Sage.

    9. An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for someone who…

      An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for someone who either acted as if he were a lord or had worked in a lord's household.

    10. An interjection variously expressing astonishment, surprise, resignation.

      • O Lord I must laugh.
      • Lord, lord, Carrados, the tragic monotony of your elderly professional nonentity!

    11. A formal title of the lesser British nobility, used for a lord of the manor or Lord…

      A formal title of the lesser British nobility, used for a lord of the manor or Lord Proprietor.

    12. A generic title used in reference to any peer of the British nobility or any peer below…

      A generic title used in reference to any peer of the British nobility or any peer below the dignity of duke and (as a courtesy title) for the younger sons of dukes and marquesses (see usage note).

      • How do you do, Lord Darlington?

    13. Similar formal and generic titles in other countries.

    14. An additional title added to denote the dignity of certain high officials, such as the…

      An additional title added to denote the dignity of certain high officials, such as the "Lord Mayors" of major cities in the British Commonwealth

    15. The elected president of a festival.

    16. A high priest.

    17. Typographical variant of Lord, particularly in English translations of the Bible.

      • O Lord our Lord [translating יְהוָ֤ה אֲדֹנֵ֗ינוּ (y'hvh 'adonéinu)], how meruelous is thy name in the whole earth! Becauſe thy magnificence is eleuated, aboue the heauens.
      • And the LORD God [translating יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים (y'hvh 'elohím)] ſaid, It is not good that the man ſhould be alone: I will make him an helpe meet for him.
      • And the LORD [translating יְהוָה֙ (y'hvh)] ſaid vnto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And hee ſaid, I know not: Am I my brothers keeper?

The neighborhood

Derived

banner lord, belord, chief lord, crime lord, dragonlord, drug lord, druglord, drunk as a lord, feudal lord, First Lord, ganglord, gutlord, harvest lord, House of Lords, Irish lord, jerry-lord, Jew-Lord, laird, landlord, law lord, lay lord, lich lord, liege lord, lord and master, lorddom, lord-dom, lord-fish, lordful, lordhood, lord in gross, lord-in-waiting, lordish, lord it over, lordkin, lordless, lordlet, lordlike, lordliness, lordling, lordly · +74 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at lord. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01lord02prince03king04regardless05irrespective06consequences07lady08lordess

A definitional loop anchored at lord. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at lord

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA