# lord

Pronunciation: US say "LORD" /lɔɹd/; UK/AUS say "LAWD" /lɔːd/

## Proper noun · Lord

1. God, as worshipped in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; in English Bibles often printed LORD in capitals.
   - Simple: A name for God, used in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
   - _The old preacher insisted that the king had been chosen by the Lord._
   - _They gave thanks to the Lord for bringing them home safely from the war._
3. Jesus Christ, understood in Christian belief as God the Son.
   - Simple: Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is God the Son.
   - _The pastor urged them to follow the Lord Jesus in their daily lives._
   - _The disciples left their nets to follow their Lord along the shore of Galilee._
5. Any deity other than the Abrahamic God who is especially important to a religion or a worshipper.
   - Simple: A god from another religion who is very important to its followers or to one believer.
   - _Pilgrims crowd the temple steps each spring to honor Lord Shiva._
   - _The coven called on their Lord, the Horned God, to bless the harvest._

## Noun

2. A person with power over others, especially a feudal superior such as the master of a manor, a nobleman or a ruler.
   - Simple: A man with power over other people, especially in the past a noble who owned land and ruled those living on it.
   - _The rebels took up arms against their rightful lord, the prince who had ruled them for twenty years._
   - _She grew up believing that no person should be lord over another._
6. A person or thing that has great power over something, such as a trade or a place, as in 'a drug lord'.
   - Simple: Someone with great power over a business, activity or place, as in 'drug lord'.
   - _The press lord owned dozens of newspapers and could make or break a politician's career._
   - _Police say the drug lord ran the whole trade along the border from a farmhouse._

## Noun · Lord

4. A British peer, or the title used for one, as in 'Lord Hartley'; also a similar noble title in other countries.
   - Simple: A man of high noble rank in Britain, or the title before his name. Other countries have similar titles.
   - _Lord Hartley rose in the chamber to speak against the bill._
   - _As the duke's younger son, he was styled Lord Henry Ashcombe, though he held no peerage of his own._
7. An extra title that marks the dignity of certain high officials, such as the Lord Mayors of major British Commonwealth cities.
   - Simple: An extra title that shows a high official is very important, like a city's Lord Mayor.
   - _The Lord Mayor of Sydney welcomed the visiting delegation at the town hall._
   - _The Lord Chief Justice read out the court's decision to a packed room._
10. A title attached to the holding of land or rights rather than to noble rank, as in lord of the manor or Lord Proprietor.
   - Simple: A title that comes with owning land or certain rights, not with being a noble, such as lord of the manor.
   - _He bought the title Lord of the Manor of Little Hadley at auction, though it came with no land._
   - _The colony's charter named several Lords Proprietors, each with a share of the land._
12. The person elected to preside over a festival.
   - Simple: The person chosen by vote to lead a festival.
   - _The students elected a Lord of Misrule to preside over the midwinter revels._
   - _As Lord of the feast, he opened the games and judged the contests._
17. A respectful title used when speaking to a peer, a bishop, or certain senior judges, usually preceded by my. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A polite way to speak to a noble, a bishop, or some senior judges, usually as "my Lord".
   - _"With respect, my Lord, the witness has already answered that question," said the barrister._
   - _"Welcome to the parish, my Lord," the vicar said as the bishop stepped out of the car._

## Interjection · Lord

8. Used as an exclamation of astonishment, surprise or resignation.
   - Simple: Said when you are amazed or surprised, or when you accept something you can't change.
   - _Good Lord, is that really the time?_
   - _Lord, I suppose we'll just have to start over._

## Verb

9. To domineer, or to behave with the superior air of a lord.
   - Simple: To act as if you are better than others and can boss them around.
   - _He never missed a chance to lord his degree over the rest of the staff._
   - _Her rivals resented the way she lorded over every committee she chaired._
11. To raise someone to the dignity, power and privileges of a lord, or to grant someone the title of lord.
   - Simple: To make someone a lord, giving them the title and its rights and power.

## Noun

13. The man who heads a household, as its father or husband. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The man who is the head of a family, such as a father or husband.
   - _Every evening the household gathered for prayers led by its lord, the father of eleven children._
   - _The young bride promised to honor and obey her lord._
14. The person who owns a house, a piece of land, or any other possession. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The person who owns a house, land, or some other thing.
   - _Each ton of tin raised from the shaft earned a share for the lord on whose land the mine lay._
   - _After selling the farm, he was lord of nothing but a cart, a tired mule and the clothes on his back._
15. A baron or other nobleman of lower rank, as distinct from the greater nobility. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A baron or other lower noble, not a high one like an earl or a duke.
16. Sixpence, as a coin or a sum of money. *(obsolete, Australia, British)*
   - Simple: A coin worth six pennies, used in Britain and Australia long ago.

## Other meanings

- (proper noun) An English family name that began as a nickname, either for a man who put on lordly airs or for one who served in a nobleman's home.
- (noun) Under feudalism, a tenant who held his manor directly from the king.
- (noun) The heavenly body believed in astrology to hold the dominant influence over an event, a period of time or the like.
- (noun) A high priest in the Wiccan religion.
- (noun) A person with a hunched or crooked back.

## Origin

**Meanings 2, 4–7, 9–17** — From Middle English lord, earlier lourde and loverd, from Old English hlāford, a compound of hlāf ("bread"; see loaf) and weard ("guardian"; see ward), whose use was influenced by its common use to translate Latin dominus. Scots laird ("lord") is a separate development of the same word, and lady likewise comes from an Old English compound, hlǣfdīġe ("bread-kneader").
**Meanings 1, 3, 8** — From lord. Used for God, it began in Old English as a translation of Latin Dominus, which rendered Greek Kýrios and Hebrew Adonai ("my lord"), the word read aloud in place of God's name, YHWH. It replaced the older word drighten.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lord (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).