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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

lord.

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

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/lɔːd/Received-Pronunciation/loːd/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/loɹd/General-American/lɔɾd/Scotland

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

    obsolete

  2. The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor The male head of a household, a father or husband.

    archaic · obsolete

  3. The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor The owner of a house, piece of land, or other possession

    archaic · obsolete

  4. 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)

  5. 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) A feudal tenant holding his manor directly of the king

    historical

  6. 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) A peer of the realm, particularly a temporal one

  7. 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) A baron or lesser nobleman, as opposed to greater ones

    obsolete · uncommon

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

  9. One possessing similar mastery in figurative senses (esp. as lord of ~) A magnate of a trade or profession.

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

  11. A hunchback.

    UK · obsolete · slang

  12. Sixpence.

    Australia · UK · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-der.? Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz Proto-West Germanic *hlaib Old English hlāf Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Proto-West Germanic *ward Old English weard Old English hlāfweard Old English hlāford Middle English lord English lord 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.

verb/lɔːd/Received-Pronunciation/loːd/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/loɹd/General-American/lɔɾd/Scotland

  1. To domineer or act like a lord.

    ambitransitive

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

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-der.? Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz Proto-West Germanic *hlaib Old English hlāf Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Proto-West Germanic *ward Old English weard Old English hlāfweard Old English hlāford Middle English lord English lord 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.

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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.