lord

[lawrd]

noun

1. a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.

2. a person who exercises authority from property rights; an owner of land, houses, etc.

3. a person who is a leader or has great influence in a chosen profession.

   the great lords of banking.

4. a feudal superior; the proprietor of a manor.

5. a titled nobleman or peer; a person whose ordinary appellation contains by courtesy the title Lord or some higher title.

6. Lords, the Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal comprising the House of Lords

7. Lord, (in Britain)

   1. the title of certain high officials (used with some other title, name, or the like).

      Lord Mayor of London.

   2. the formally polite title of a bishop.

      Lord Bishop of Durham.

   3. the title informally substituted for Marquis, Earl, Viscount, etc., as in the use of Lord Kitchener for Earl Kitchener.

8. Lord, the Supreme Being; God.

9. Christianity.,  Lord, the Savior, Jesus Christ.

10. Astrology.,  a planet having dominating influence.

interjection

1. Often Lord (used in exclamatory phrases to express surprise, elation, etc.).

   Lord, what a beautiful day!

lord

¹

/ lɔːd /

noun

1. a person who has power or authority over others, such as a monarch or master

2. a male member of the nobility, esp in Britain

3. (in medieval Europe) a feudal superior, esp the master of a manor Compare lady

4. a husband considered as head of the household (archaic except in the facetious phrase lord and master )

5. astrology a planet having a dominating influence

6. a respectful form of address used to a judge, bishop, or nobleman

verb

1. rare,  (tr) to make a lord of (a person)

2. to act in a superior manner towards (esp in the phrase lord it over )

Lord

²

/ lɔːd /

noun

1. a title given to God or Jesus Christ

2. 1. a title given to men of high birth, specifically to an earl, marquess, baron, or viscount

   2. a courtesy title given to the younger sons of a duke or marquess

   3. the ceremonial title of certain high officials or of a bishop or archbishop

      Lord Mayor

      Lord of Appeal

      Law Lord

      Lord Bishop of Durham

interjection

1. (sometimes not capital) an exclamation of dismay, surprise, etc

   Good Lord!

   Lord only knows!

Other Word Forms

• lordlike adjective
• lordless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lord¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English lord, lover(e)d, Old English hlāford, hlāfweard literally, “loaf-keeper”; loaf ¹, ward; lady ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of lord¹

Old English hlāford bread keeper; see _loaf ¹ , _ward

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. lord it, to assume airs of importance and authority; behave arrogantly or dictatorially; domineer.

   to lord it over the menial workers.

More idioms and phrases containing lord

• drunk as a lord

Example Sentences

He would sneak on the bus to training, playing as a striker and scoring goals on the pitches built by drug lord Pablo Escobar, only donning the gloves after a team-mate was injured.

From BBC

"We ask he reflects carefully as a shadow lord chancellor should. We ask he thinks and he refrains from commenting further."

From BBC

“These are the type of tactics reserved for dangerous criminals such as violent gang members, drug lords, and terrorists,” the attorneys said.

From Los Angeles Times

At his height, Zambada was probably the most powerful drug lord in the world.

From BBC

The U.S. directed prosecutors to not seek capital punishment for three reputed drug lords, including one in a DEA agent’s killing, court filings show.

From Los Angeles Times