Definition of "lord"

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

1. (archaic) The male head of a household, a father or husband.  quotations

   Quotations

   • Ymbe ðet lond et cert ðe hire eðelmod hire hlabard salde.

     831, charter in Henry Sweet, The oldest English texts, 445

   • […] thou worthie Lord,Of that vnworthie wife that greeteth thee

     1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […]

   • 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] Blount, published 1623, [Act V, scene ii], line 131

   • Therefore Sarah laughed within her ſelfe, ſaying, After I am waxed old, ſhall I haue pleaſure, my lord being old alſo?

     1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Genesis 18:12

   • Yes, here I am, my good friend; and here I have been so long, that anywhere else I should think it necessary to apologise; but, the truth is, that I am waiting for my lord and master.

     1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XVI, in Emma: […], volume III, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, page 300

2. (archaic) The owner of a house, piece of land, or other possession  quotations

   Quotations

   • All suche lordes as have gutters betuxte thar houses.

     1480, Waterford Archives in the 10th Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (1885), App. v. 316

   • 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, […]

   • Lord, the owner of the land in which a mine is situated is called the ‘lord’.

     1874, J. H. Collins, “Principles of Metal Mining”, in Gloss, published 1875, 139/2

(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)  quotations

1. (historical) A feudal tenant holding his manor directly of the king

2. A peer of the realm, particularly a temporal one  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Men myghten lordis knowe / By there arraye, from oþir folke.

     ante 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

   • Princes, and noble Lords:What anſwer ſhall I make to this baſe man?

     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 the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene 1], line 18

   • Our English name Lord, whereby we and the Scots stile all such as are of the Greater Nobilitie i. Barons, as also Bishops.

     1614, J. Selden, Titles of Honor, section 59

   • The Englishman of to-day still dearly loves a lord.

     1900 July 21, Daily Express

3. (obsolete, uncommon) A baron or lesser nobleman, as opposed to greater ones  quotations

   Quotations

   • 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

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

1. A magnate of a trade or profession.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Oh, Oh! The cotton Lords are tearing!

     1823, W. Cobbett, Rural Rides, published 1885, I. 399

(astrology) The heavenly body considered to possess a dominant influence over an event, time, etc.  quotations

(Britain, slang, obsolete) A hunchback.  quotations

(Britain, Australia, via Cockney rhyming slang, obsolete) Sixpence.  quotations

(intransitive and transitive) Domineer or act like a lord.  quotations  examples

(transitive) To invest with the dignity, power, and privileges of a lord; to grant the title of lord.  quotations  examples