lord

Noun (1)

lord (plural lords)

1. (obsolete) 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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 24:46
   • Por. ...But now, I was the Lord
     of this faire manſion, maiſter of my ſeruants,
     Queene oer my ſelfe[…]c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
   1. (archaic, obsolete) The male head of a household, a father or husband.
      • […]thou worthie Lord,
        Of that vnworthie wife that greeteth thee1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC
      • Pet. Katherine, I charge thee, tell theſe head-ſtrong women,
        What dutie they doe owe their Lords and huſbands!c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
   2. (archaic, obsolete) The owner of a house, piece of land, or other possession
      • A mightie Lord of Swine!ante 1637, Ben Jonson, Sad Shepherd, ii. i. 36
      • Turnus[…]
        Wrench'd from his feeble hold the shining Sword;
        And plung'd it in the Bosom of its Lord.1697, Virgil, “The Twelfth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
2. 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.1530, John Palsgrave, Lesclarcissement, 680/1
   • Man over men He made not Lord.1667, John Milton, “Book XII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
   1. (historical) A feudal tenant holding his manor directly of the king
   2. A peer of the realm, particularly a temporal one
      • Men myghten lordis knoweante 1420, T. Hoccleve, De Regimine Principum, 442
      • If such persone bee of the estate of a Lord, as Duc, Marques, Erle, Viscount or Baron.1453, Rolls of Parliament, V. 266/2
   3. (obsolete, uncommon) A baron or lesser nobleman, as opposed to greater ones
      • Farre excellyng the state of lordes, erles, dukes or kynges.1526, W. Bonde, Pylgrimage of Perfection, i. sig. Bviiiv
      • The Marquess played off the two Lords and the Baronet against his former friend.1826, Benjamin Disraeli, Vivian Grey, II. iii. iii. 26
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.ante 1300, Cursor Mundi, 782
   • The sonne is the lorde of planetes.1398, Bartholomew de Glanville, translated by John Trevisa, De Proprietatibus Rerum, published 1495, viii. xvi. 322
   1. A magnate of a trade or profession.
      • The Tobacco Lords were a group of Scottish merchants and slave traders who in the 18th century made enormous fortunes by trading in tobacco.
      • Oh, Oh! The cotton Lords are tearing!1823, W. Cobbett, Rural Rides, published 1885, I. 399
4. The heavenly body considered to possess a dominant influence over an event, time, etc.
   • The assendent, & eke the lord of the assendent, may be shapen for to be fortunat or infortunat, as thus, a fortunat assendent clepen they whan þat no wykkid planete, as Saturne or Mars, or elles the tail of the dragoun, is in þe hows of the assendent.c. 1391, Geoffrey Chaucer, Treatise on the Astrolabe, ii. §4
5. (UK, obsolete, slang) A hunchback.
   • Lord, a very crooked, deformed... Person.1699, B.E., A new dictionary of the terms ancient and modern of the canting crew
6. (Australia, UK, obsolete, via Cockney rhyming slang) Sixpence.
   • Twenty years ago you might hear a sixpence described as a ‘Lord’ meaning ‘Lord of the Manor’; that is, a tanner.1933 November 16, Times Literary Supplement, 782/1

Verb

lord (third-person singular simple present lords, present participle lording, simple past and past participle lorded)

1. (ambitransitive) To domineer or act like a lord.
   • The grisly toadstool grown there might I see, / And loathed paddocks lording on the same.1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “December. Ægloga Duodecima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], →OCLC
2. (transitive) 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 Dukec. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, act 1, scene 2

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Lord

Lord (countable and uncountable, plural Lords)

1. The Abrahamic deity of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.
   • The breath of worldly men cannot depose
     The Deputie elected by the Lord ...1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to...
   • If the Lord wanted me to feel better, he'd put me out of my misery. But He wants me to suffer. He's still punishing me.1999 February 3, Anthony Horowitz et al., “Strangler's Wood”, in Midsomer Murders
   1. (Judaism) The God of Abraham and the Jewish scriptures.
   2. God the Father; the Godhead.
      • Some trust in charets, and some in horses: but wee will remember the Name of the Lord our God.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 20:7
2. 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.1582, Douay–Rheims Bible, 1 Corinth. 12:3
   • How loyal in the following of thy Lord!1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “(please specify |part=Prologue or Epilogue, or |canto=I to CXXIX)”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC
3. Any other deity particularly important to a religion or a worshipper.
   • ...and our Lord [the Horned God] as Master, Father, and Sage.2002, A.J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 89
4. 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.

Interjection capitalized: Lord

1. An interjection variously expressing astonishment, surprise, resignation.
   • O Lord I must laugh.c. 1595, William Shakespeare, The Comedie of Errors, published 1623, iii. i. 50
   • Lord, lord, Carrados, the tragic monotony of your elderly professional nonentity!1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC

Noun (2) capitalized: Lord

Lord (plural Lords)

1. A formal title of the lesser British nobility, used for a lord of the manor or Lord Proprietor.
2. 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?1892, Oscar Wilde, “Act I”, in Lady Windermere's Fan […]
3. Similar formal and generic titles in other countries.
4. An additional title added to denote the dignity of certain high officials, such as the "Lord Mayors" of major cities in the British Commonwealth
5. The elected president of a festival.
6. A high priest.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: LORD

LORD

1. 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.1610, The Second Tome of the Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Laurence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Psalmes 8:2, page 26
   • 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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:18, column 1