lad
Translingual edit
Symbol edit
lad
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English ladde (“foot soldier, servant; male commoner; boy”), from late Old English *ladda (attested in Old English personal byname Ladda), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse ladd (“hose, woolen stocking; sock”), which may have undergone semantic shift to mean a term of abuse (e.g. foolish youth, youngster of lower social status, etc.); thence by connotative amelioration coming to mean any young fellow. Compare Norwegian ladd (“rough sock, woolen or felt slipper”) and the -ladd in compounds Askeladd/Askeladden (a nickname in fairy tales, "Ash Lad") and tusseladd (“nincompoop”). See also Swedish ladder (“old shoes”), lodde (“Frisian shoe”), lädder (“socks”), all said to be related to Old Norse loðinn (“hairy, shaggy, woolly”), loddi (“shaggy dog”).[1]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lad (plural lads)
- A boy or young man.
- Coordinate term: lass
- 1776, John Woolman, chapter XI, in A Journal of the Life, Gospel Labours, and Christian Experiences of that Faithful Minister of Jesus Christ, John Woolman, […] [1], Dublin: Printed by R. Jackson, page 209:
- How great is that danger, to which poor lads are now exposed, when placed on shipboard to learn the art of sailing! Five lads, training up for the seas, were now on board this ship; […]
- 1850, T. S. Arthur, “Deacon Smith and his Violin”, in Sketches of Life and Character[2], Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 70:
- The lad, his son, had obtained a Jew's-harp, and learned to play upon it the profane airs of "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia," "St. Patrick's Day," and "Auld Lang Syne."
- (British) A hedonistic or irresponsible young man; A Jack the lad.
- Coordinate term: ladette
- I think he reckons he’s a bit of a lad.
- Last night I was out drinking with the lads.
- A familiar term of address for a young man.
- Come here, lad, and help me shift these boxes.
- A groom who works with horses.
- Synonyms: stable boy, stable lad
- (Ireland, colloquial) The penis.
- 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, page 225:
- — The lad stood to attention anyhow, he said with a sigh. She's a gamey mare and no mistake.
- 1995 May 5, Graham Linehan, Arthur Matthews, “The Passion of St Tibulus”, in Father Ted:
- Mrs Glynn: Oh but there's this great bit in it. You see, there was this girl, but then you find out it's not a girl but a man!
Mrs Sheridan: And he got his lad out.
- 2007, anonymous author, translated by Ciaran Carson, The Táin, →ISBN, page 175:
- And he loaded the chariot with clods and boulders and cobbles that he fired at anyone who came to stare at him and jeer him, stark naked as he was, with his long lad and his acorns dangling down through the floor of the chariot.
- 2010, Loucinda McGary, The Wild Irish Sea: A Windswept Tale of Love and Magic, →ISBN, page 11:
- Just thinking about how she would look without her clothes made his lad twitch with anticipation.
Usage notes edit
Prevalent in Northern English dialects such as Geordie, Mackem, Scouse and Northumbrian.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
a boy or young man
|
familiar term of address for a young man
|
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References edit
- Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, →ISBN
- A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN
- Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
- Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin, [3]
- A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896, [4]
- A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN
- ^ * Liberman, Anatoly, Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology, University of Minnesota Press, 2008, p. 139
Further reading edit
- lad at The Septic's Companion: A British Slang Dictionary
- “lad”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “lad”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams edit
Czech edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lad
Danish edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Old Danish lat, from Old Norse latr, from Proto-Germanic *lataz, from Proto-Indo-European *lē(y)d-.
Adjective edit
lad
Inflection edit
| Inflection of lad | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | |
| Indefinte common singular | lad | ladere | ladest2 |
| Indefinite neuter singular | ladt | ladere | ladest2 |
| Plural | lade | ladere | ladest2 |
| Definite attributive1 | lade | ladere | ladeste |
| 1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively. | |||
Etymology 2 edit
From Old Norse hlað (“heap, stack”).
Noun edit
lad n (singular definite ladet, plural indefinite lad)
- bed (platform of a truck, trailer, railcar, or other vehicle that supports the load to be hauled), e.g. truckbed
Inflection edit
Declension of lad
Etymology 3 edit
Verb edit
lad
- imperative of lade
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Noun edit
lad m (plural lads)
Further reading edit
- “lad”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German edit
Verb edit
lad
Middle English edit
Noun edit
lad
- Alternative form of ladde
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Verb edit
lad
- imperative of lade
Old English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Proto-Germanic *laidō. Cognate with Old High German leita (German Leite), Old Norse leið. Akin to līþan (“to go, travel, fare”).
Noun edit
lād f
Declension edit
Declension of lad (strong ō-stem)
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Etymology 2 edit
Akin to Old Frisian lēde, lāde.
Noun edit
lād f
- excuse (+ genitive for something)
- apology (+ genitive for something)
- defense or exoneration (+ genitive against an accusation)
Declension edit
Declension of lad (strong ō-stem)
Derived terms edit
Polish edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lad f
Romansch edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Adjective edit
lad m (feminine singular lada, masculine plural lads, feminine plural ladas)
Synonyms edit
Scots edit
Alternative forms edit
- laddie - most common usage
Etymology edit
From Proto-Germanic *laidō. Cognate with Old High German leita (German Leite), Old Norse leið. Akin to līþan (“to go, travel, fare”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lad (plural lads)
Volapük edit
Noun edit
lad (nominative plural lads)
Declension edit
declension of lad
Derived terms edit
Waigali edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Bactrian λαδο (lado, “law”). Cognate with Ashkun lā́t (“peace, settlement”), Kamkata-viri lót, lód (“peace, settlement”), Prasuni lad (“peace”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lad
- right
- Ũmë lad oi.
- It's my right.
References edit
- Jakob Halfmann (2023) Lād "law": a Bactrian loanword in the Nuristani languages, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom, pages 1-2