Dictionary

m'lady en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /məˈleɪdi/

Etymology

Elision of my + lady.

Meanings

1. (historical, humorous, often) My Lady (used to address peers temporal, judges, etc).

Forms

Relateds

mademoiselle · madam · m'lord

m'lady en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /məˈleɪdi/

Etymology

Elision of my + lady.

Meanings

1. To address as “m’lady”.
   • Fanny (how much Tom had told her about Fanny) m’ladied her and took her cloak. 1939, Gilbert Frankau, Royal Regiment: A Novel of Contemporary Behaviours, New York, N.Y.: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., page 423:
   • […]when people living in the same social set m’lorded and m’ladied each other with much frequency. 1929, Mrs. C. S. Peel [i.e., Constance Peel], A Hundred Wonderful Years: Social and Domestic Life of a Century, 1820-1920, London: John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd., page 103:
   • If only she could get him to stop m’ladying her... 2021, Jackie Barbosa, “Epilogue”, in A Bit of Rough: The House of Uncommons, Book One, Circe Press, →ISBN:
   • Then he was coming down the slope to her, m’ladying her again: “It’s the lady who telephoned, m’lady. I wasn’t sure whether you would wish to receiver her, m’lady. So I asked her to wait in the hall until I ascertained whether you had returned, m’lady”. 1938, Gilbert Frankau, The Dangerous Years: A Trilogy, New York, N.Y.: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., book three (Present Day), chapter ninety-eight, section 5, page 680:
   • “[…]Please get out of the habit of m’ladying me, once and for all, and reserve it for Grandmama.” “Yes, m’lady!” “There you go again!” 1962, Frank Baines, Culture of Bacillus, London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, page 96:
   • […]lavishly “M’Ladyed,” as was the fashion of the day. 1932, Mrs. C. S. Peel [i.e., Constance Peel], The Stream of Time: Social and Domestic Life in England, 1805-1861, page 162:

Forms