lady

将“lady”与“lad”联系记忆，想象一个“lad”（年轻男子）长大了，变得文雅、有风度，最终变成了一位“lady”（女士）。这种视觉联想有助于记住单词的含义。

lady 夫人，女士

来自古英语hlaefdige,准备面包的人，女主人，hlaef,面包，词源同loaf,-dige,揉捏，词源同dough,dairy.后用于尊称夫人，女士。比较lord.

lady

lady: [OE] Originally, the term lady denoted a ‘kneader of bread’. It comes from Old English hloefdige, a compound formed from hlǣf ‘bread’ (ancestor of modern English loaf) and an element *dig- ‘knead’ (related to English dough). It is a measure of the symbolic (and actual) importance of bread in medieval households that (like lord, also a derivative of loaf) lady came, as a provider of bread, to be applied to someone in a position of authority within a house.
=> dairy, dough, loaf, lord

lady (n.)

c. 1200, lafdi, lavede, from Old English hlæfdige "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," literally "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf) + -dige "maid," related to dæge "maker of dough" (see dey (n.1); also compare lord (n.)). The medial -f- disappeared 14c. Not found outside English except where borrowed from it.

Sense of "woman of superior position in society" is c. 1200; "woman whose manners and sensibilities befit her for high rank in society" is from 1861 (ladylike in this sense is from 1580s, and ladily from c. 1400). Meaning "woman as an object of chivalrous love" is from early 14c. Used commonly as an address to any woman since 1890s. Applied in Old English to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, place names, etc., from genitive singular hlæfdigan, which in Middle English merged with the nominative, so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's, as in ladybug. Ladies' man first recorded 1784. Lady of pleasure recorded from 1640s.

1. Listen here, young lady. Don't you call me that!

你给我听着，小姐。别那样叫我！

2. In the past he dallied with actresses and lady novelists.

他过去曾与许多女演员和女小说家调情。

3. He bundled the old lady into her hallway and brutally attacked her.

他将老妇人推到她家走廊上，并对她一顿暴打。

4. America'sFirst Lady stood on the sweeping staircase of the White House.

美国第一夫人站在白宫的弧形楼梯上。

5. The old lady cackled, pleased to have produced so dramatic a reaction.

看到引起如此大的反应，老太太高兴得咯咯笑了起来。

【female, woman, lady】
这组词都有“女性”的意思，其区别是：
female: 与male“男(性)的，公的，雄的”相对，强调性别，可指人或动物，但除用于科学和统计上外，大多含贬义。
woman: 与man相对，侧重成年妇女的特点，系成年妇女的通称。
lady: 与gentleman相对，强调所谓高贵的气质、品德和教养等。也指对女性的礼貌称呼。

【madam, lady, mrs, miss】
这些名词均表示对女性的尊称。
madam: 夫人、太太，女士，小姐。与尊称男人的用词sir相对，多用于对已婚或未婚妇女的礼貌称呼，如店员对女顾客的称呼，后面不加姓名。如果已知对方的身份或姓名可在此词后面加上姓名职位。
lady: 女士，夫人，与gentleman相对，是对女性的礼貌称呼，多用于演讲或祝酒时称呼在场的女性。
mrs: 太太，夫人，是mistress的缩略形式，对已婚妇女的称呼。
miss: 小姐，是对未婚或不知婚姻状况的女性的称呼，与姓氏连用时应大写。