ladyismn.
/ˈleɪdɪɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˈleɪdiɪz(ə)m/ Ladylike appearance; ladylike manners or behaviour.Recorded earliest in young-ladyism n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [noun] > good manners or polite behaviour > as a result of good breeding > specific
gentlemanship1541
gentlemanliness1565
gentlewomanliness1808
ladyhood1820
ladyism1826
ladylikeness1844
gentlemanlikeness1849
1826 Monthly Mag. Apr. 383 She was three or four-and-twenty, too, past the age of mere young-ladyism, and entirely unaccomplished.
1828 New Monthly Mag. 23 424 Nota is gentlemanlike..and attempts to dignify the sock with a more..stately tread—a task nearly impossible, at least under existing manners in Italy, where there is..no gentlemanism or ladyism, to copy from.
1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Coventry xxi Miss Molasses, the pink of propriety and ‘what-would-mamma-say’ ladyism.
1922 Smart Set May 140/2 Lingering ladyism—a childish prudery inherited from their mothers.
2003 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 18 Oct. e4 Feminine looks and pretty colours ruled both sides of the Atlantic... The British, French and Italians are espousing the new ladyism.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1826