lordlyadj.n.
/ˈlɔːdli/, U.S. /ˈlɔrdli/ A. adj.
1. Of, relating to, or belonging to a lord or lords; consisting of or administered by lords. Now rare.In quots. OE, a1200 with reference to God or Christ (cf. lord n. 6).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > lord > [adjective]
lordlyOE
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > lord or lady > [adjective] > lordly or relating to a lord
lordlyOE
seignorous1477
seignorously1481
lordlike1488
seignorable1572
seigneurial1656
seignorial1818
OE Sedulius Glosses (Corpus Cambr. 173) in H. D. Meritt Old Eng. Glosses (1945) 32/2 [Tuba clamat] herilis : seo hlafordlice.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 23 Chireche..is cleped on boc kiriaca .i. dominicalis, þat is on englis louerdlich hus.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 312 Lordly, dominativus.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 170 (MED) A barn is born..Wolde clymbyn kynge and knytys and lett my lordly lay.
a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 623 Herilis, lordlyche.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement iii. f. xci/1 Lordelyke belongyng to a lorde.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 492 A house..may be diuided..into these foure parts: into Matrimoniall, Parentall, Lordly or Maisterlie, and Possessorie part.
1645 J. Cotton Way Churches New-Eng. 36 The Government of his [sc. Christ's] Kingdome is not Lordly, but Stewardly and Ministeriall.
1653 J. Hall Paradoxes 4 Lordly or absolute Monarchy is the best and most natural Government.
1710 J. Trapp Most Faults One Side 50 Many Powers and Emoluments have been added, such as Lordly Titles, Temporal Possessions, &c.
1750 W. Warburton Julian Introd. p. ii The Romish clergy..found nothing of such use for the support of this lordly system as..the authority of the Fathers.
1841 E. Miall in Nonconformist 1 241 Pensioning off supernumerary members of lordly houses.
1862 R. Vaughan Eng. Nonconformity 392 The more learned of this class were ardent in their support of a lordly prelacy.
1933 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 41 381 The rise of large feudal landholders, among whom are found great numbers of bailiffs and managers of royal or lordly estates.
1992 M. Bishop Count Geiger's Blues lviii. 306 The title elevated Xavier to the lordly peerage.
2.
a. Of a thing: suitable for or befitting a lord; grand, magnificent, noble.In quot. lOE glossing classical Latin hērōicus heroic adj. in sense ‘suitable for epic poetry (i.e. hexametrical)’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > splendour > [adjective] > magnificent
lordlylOE
richc1275
prouda1300
noblec1300
gloriousc1315
reala1325
rialc1330
stouta1350
solemnc1386
royalc1400
pompousc1425
statelyc1425
lordlike1488
magnific1490
of state1498
magnificenta1530
pompatic1535
magnificala1538
princely1539
gorgeous?1542
regal1561
superbious?1566
surly1566
splendent1567
heroical1577
superbous1581
sumptuous1594
pompatical1610
pompal1616
fastidious1638
grand1673
splendid1685
grandific1727
grandiose1818
splendiferous1827
splendacious1843
magnolious1863
lOE Aldhelm Glosses (Auct. F.2.14) in A. S. Napier Old Eng. Glosses (1900) 187/1 Heroicus : id est nobile, hlafordlic.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 440 (MED) Certes to blame ben þe lordes grete..þat hir men lete Vsurpe swiche a lordly apparaille.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Rawl.) (1974) 148 This lady byhilde this royall and lordly beldyng so nygh to fall.
1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome i. f. 6v In placeing of his kinsemen hie, in loftie Lordely chayre.
1604 M. Drayton Owle sig. Bv Vnder the 'xtenture of whose lordly armes, The small Birds warbled their harmonious charmes.
1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 25 A Lordly ascendent..from Primate to Patriarch, and so to Pope.
1680 T. Gouge God's Call to Eng. 139 But shall we not fear the Hammer and Nail will cleave our Pates, when Sisera-like we are droll'd into sleep with a Lordly Dish of Butter and Honey?
1757 E. Perronet Mitre (new ed.) i. xix. 5 Chaplains that bless the royal board,..The lordly Sees or humble Cells Of London and of York.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 19 On this bold brow, a lordly tower.
1890 H. G. Dakyns in tr. Xenophon Wks. I. p. lxxxviii Cyrus was flying at lordlier game than certain irrepressible hill tribes.
1929 G. P. Merrill Minerals from Earth & Sky ii. iv. 191 It is indeed difficult to believe that graphite..is the brother of the lordly diamond.
1947 C. Mackenzie Whisky Galore ii. 9 A lordly spread, of which a magnificent lobster was the pièce de résistance.
2007 A. Theroux Laura Warholic xli. 651 All the people in the world appear to be the same size when, looking down from the perch of his lordly eyrie, he inspects us.
b. Of an action, personal quality, etc.: characteristic of or befitting a lord; grand, noble, honourable.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adjective] > relating to the nobility > relating to noble person
noblea1393
lordly1419
1419 Guildhall Let.-bk. in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 81 We recomaunde vs vnto þe high lordship of your gracious excellence..Tha[n]kyng your lordly excellence in as lowely maner as office of writing may conteyne.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 396 (MED) Þe conquerour kyndly comforthes þese knyghtes, Alowes þaim gretly theire lordly avowes.
?1570 T. Preston Lamentable Trag. Cambises sig. C.iijv There is triumphing and sport vpon sporte. Such loyall Lords, with such Lordly exercise: Frequenting such pastime as they can deuise.
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xiii. 133 Not Presbytery but Arch-Presbytery, Classical, Provincial, and Diocesan Presbytery, claiming to it self a Lordly power.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 20 Have we not seen, at pleasure's lordly call, The smiling long-frequented village fall.
1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes iii. 169 It is truly a lordly spectacle how this great soul takes in all kinds of men and objects, a Falstaff, an Othello, a Juliet, a Coriolanus.
1859 C. Barker Devel. Associative Princ. i. 28 Falconry and the chase afforded to the abbot..the most lordly recreation of the time.
1901 Everybody's Mag. July 89/2 The acres of unprolific soil over which he held a lordly sway.
1960 K. Kawai Japan's Amer. Interlude i. 12 MacArthur's imperious aloofness and lordly graciousness did establish prestige and authority.
2005 W. Johnston Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star xiii. 91 His beneficence stemmed from a powerful physical infatuation..and was not simply a sign of lordly benevolence.
c. Of a person: having the character, attributes, or appearance of a lord; noble, grand, illustrious. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective]
higheOE
drightlikeOE
highlyOE
drightfula1225
prouda1275
principalc1385
solemna1387
gentlec1390
high and mighty1400
imperial?c1400
royalc1405
kinglyc1425
sublimatec1425
lordfulc1429
lordlyc1440
assumpt1447
raiseda1450
haught1470
kinglikec1485
lordlike1488
triumphant1494
greatlya1500
princely?a1510
supereminent1531
princelike1532
lofta1547
lofty1548
regal1561
supernal1562
haughty1563
excelse1569
queen-like?1571
majestical1578
erecteda1586
augustious1591
ennobled1592
imperious1592
enthronized1593
august1594
high-born1598
sublimed1602
jovial1604
majestic1606
enthroned1609
starred1615
exalted1623
majestuous1633
reared1638
sublimary1655
majestative1656
kingrik1663
superb1663
grand1673
celse1708
stilted1744
canonized1790
queenly1791
apotheosized1794
princified1857
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 138 (MED) Thow arte þe lordlyeste lede þat euer I one lukyde.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Rawl.) (1974) 144 I saughe..a lady of whom the high poorte and the lordly countenaunce shewed that she was com of royall lygne.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. G.vij Some will be so lordely and valyaunt in vertues.
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 36 The lordly sonne, the most rutilant planet of the seuen.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) i. 59 The Persian is lordly in his complement.
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iv. iii. 51 Why a Calfe?.. Why not rather the Lordly Lion, to shew the soveraignty?
1700 E. Ward Journey to Hell 15 Thus Tyrants, who so lordly once appear'd, Rush'd on at all, nor God nor Devil fear'd.
1750 C. Manly Summer Voy. Gulph of Venice xviii. 16 She that had been commanded heretofore By many a Young, and Lordly Commodore.
1829 T. P. Thompson in Westm. Rev. July 256 The..aggregate of good which arises to the lordlier parts of the creation.
1886 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David VII. Ps. cxxxvi. 3 He is more lordly than all emperors and kings condensed into one.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. vii. 82 Kennicott was lordly in a long raccoon ulster and a new seal cap.
1946 J. Richardson Phoney Phleet 150 Two high-ups, lordly ones, or nobs.
2001 New Statesman (Nexis) 26 Feb. He has become the benign paterfamilias he probably always wanted to be..—the lordly good guy.
3. Arrogant, haughty, imperious, disdainful.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > [adjective]
overmoodeOE
highlyOE
overmoodOE
overmoodyOE
orgelc1175
dangerous?c1225
orgula1275
orgulousc1275
fiercec1290
hautain1297
highfulc1325
squeamousc1325
deignousc1330
digne1340
disdainousc1374
sirlya1375
lordlyc1390
high-hearteda1398
haught1430
haut1430
coppedc1449
excellentc1450
fastidious?a1475
loftyc1485
dain?1507
hichty1513
stiff-necked1526
supercilious1528
haughty1530
taunt?a1534
disdainfula1542
high in the instep1555
skeighc1560
queen-like?1571
surlyc1572
stately1579
coy1581
paughtya1586
steya1586
disdained1598
dortya1605
lordlike1605
overly1606
magnatical1608
stiff1608
surly-borne1609
high-sighted1610
lofty-minded1611
sublimed1611
patronizing1619
lording1629
sublimated1634
cavaliering1642
uncondescending1660
nose-in-the-air1673
sidy1673
fastuose1674
uncondescensive1681
condescending1707
stiff-rumped1728
fastidiose1730
cavalier1751
ogertful1754
pawky1809
supercilian1825
splendid1833
touch-me-not1852
pincé1858
high-stepping1867
eyeglassy1871
sniffy1871
cavalierly1876
snifty1889
Olympian1900
ritzy1920
mugwumpish1923
blasé1930
stiff-arsed1937
nose-high1939
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iii. l. 156 Lawe is so lordlich and loþ to maken eende, With-outen presentes or pons.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. l. 302 (MED) Haukyn..Was..as a lyon on to loke and lordeliche of speche.
c1475 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Cambr.) (1935) i. 1234 (MED) If þou be..crabbed of speche, Lordly of countenauns and comberous to please..al hir [sc. a wife's] loue hoolly þou shalt leese.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 661/1 Are you waxen so lordely that you can nat plucke of your hosen your selfe?
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxix Whome he..had..compelled by lordely and streite commaundemente.
1588 J. Udall Demonstr. Trueth of Discipline x. 48 A minister may not be Lordly ouer Gods people [1 Pet. v. 3].
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xlv. xxxv. 1225 He was an imperious and lordly commaunder.
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 151 The Lordly domineering of the English, was not forgotten in France.
1725 E. W. Amorous Bugbears 25 A King of the Amorettoes, or a Lordly Contaminator of unguarded Innocence.
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. iii. 386 The lordly West-indian tortures his poor Negroes.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 303 The Captain..treated the Master with lordly contempt.
1880 L. Stephen Alexander Pope iv. 93 Swift, indeed, had..a lordly indifference to making money by his writings.
c1928 R. W. Ritchie Hell-roarin' Forty-niners 196 The lordly miners dubbed the farmers of Honey Lake Valley Never Sweats.
1987 A. Miller Timebends i. 6 President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge posed..with their aristocratic collie dogs in lordly attendance.
2002 J. McGahern That they may face Rising Sun (2003) 155 He spoke of the other passengers with lordly condescension.
B. n.
With the and plural agreement. Lordly people as a class; those who are lordly. Formerly also: †a lordly person.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [noun] > noble person or man > collectively
nobleyea1393
gentlec1400
lordly1508
nobility1581
generous1610
high-born1686
hochgeboren1905
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. dii*v To yt lordly on loft yt lufly can lout.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xxxiv. 19 He hath no respecte vnto the personnes of ye lordly.
1680 R. Baxter Moral Prognostication i. 27 And when they are greatly inclined to the Healing of these Wounds, the Violent and Lordly will not suffer them.
1763 E. B. Greene Satires of Juvenal Imitated v. 55 With equal sway among the lordly great Pride rules the kitchen, and the rooms of state.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley II. v. 130 He still advocated the lordly, liberal, and effective.
1912 Current Lit. Nov. 520/2 To evolve the rich and the lordly, the great ones of his empire, he made administrators of the most venal.
2005 P. Kreeft Philos. of Tolkien xiii. 213 Tolkien raises up the lowly to put down the lordly.
Compounds
Parasynthetic and complementary.
ΚΠ
1824 London Lit. Gaz. 27 Nov. 758/2 A good sort of a lordly-looking man enough—shows white teeth when he laughs—a white forehead when he frowns—fine hair when he stoops—a fine figure when he stands.
1862 J. W. Culmer Golden Link i. 2 Audley, the bright, soft-nurtured, lordly bred.
1891 G. F. Millin Life in our Villages viii. 50 Now and then a pleasant rectory, a picturesque old church, a lordly-looking mansion, an undulating park, or a richlyladen orchard.
1905 Sat. Evening Post 27 May 12/3 They are the once lordly-seeming beef barons.
1920 H. A. Franck Roaming through W. Indies iii. 55 A lordly-mannered old Spaniard who had come to Cuba in his early youth, received us on the..veranda.
2001 M. Carmona Housing Design Quality iv. 105 New houses..distinguished by their deliberately lordly sounding names - the Glastonbury, Palmerston and Maidstone.
Derivatives
ˈlordly-like adv. and adj.
ΚΠ
1773 Scotland's Glory & Shame 14 Its true they must act lordly-like, or else their names ill sounded.
1860 C. Patmore Faithful for Ever iii. iii. 191 I am so proud of Frederick, He's so high-bred and lordly-like With Mrs. Vaughan!
1997 J. Hawes Rancid Aluminium (1998) vii. 104 I waved to Johnson, lordly-like, very cool.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
lordlyadv.
/ˈlɔːdli/, U.S. /ˈlɔrdli/ In the manner of a lord; nobly, illustriously; (also) arrogantly, haughtily, imperiously. Also in compounds, as lordly-dressed. Now chiefly poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > arrogance > [adverb]
lordlya1398
statelya1450
succudrouslyc1480
insolentlya1513
arrogantly1529
imperiously1536
rufflingly1575
stuntly1581
huffingly1611
surlily1611
swaggeringly1611
controllingly1612
surlya1616
superbly1663
dictatorially1731
huffishly1755
dictatorily1788
bounceably1838
high-handedly1867
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adverb]
micklelyeOE
worthlyeOE
noblelyc1300
lordlya1398
greatlya1400
kinglyc1425
princely1548
lordlikea1555
princelike1567
majestically1577
kinglike1582
elevatedly1593
great1616
grandly1647
augustly1649
magnificently1660
grand1729
lordfully1836
queenly1840
exaltedly1852
regally1852
nobilmente1899
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > lord > [adverb]
lordlya1398
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > lord or lady > [adverb]
lordlya1398
the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > [adverb]
dignelyc1374
hautainlyc1400
deignouslyc1440
disdaininglyc1485
royally?c1500
disdainouslya1513
haughtly1523
superciliously1528
disdainishly?1529
disdainfullya1533
disdainedly1535
lordlikea1555
squeamishly1571
haughtily1572
state1579
coy1581
lordly1589
overly1610
lordlily1611
condescendingly1653
on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672
coyly1673
cavalierly1718
slightily1740
skeigh1792
patronizingly1834
Olympically1839
superiorly1844
Olympianly1871
superior1891
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxxx. 1075 By his socour..þat..saueþ alle lordliche and mightyliche.
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xx. l. 241 Lordliche for to lyuen and likyngliche be cloþed.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 46 He gan to speke as lordly as a kyng.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 312 Lordly, dominanter.
a1500 (a1400) Awntyrs Arthure (Douce) l. 489 And at þe listes one þe lande lordely done liȝte.
?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. E.viv And I can daunce it gyngerly..And I can kroke it curtesly..And I can loke it lordly.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. G2v To rebuke him for tyrannising so Lordlie [printed Lorldlie] ouer the boies.
c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) l. 585 (MED) Hee was dedaine on his deede ‘madame’ too segge Too any ladie in lond, for lordlich hee karpes.
1648 J. Owen Eschol 15 If any of them be..Lordly-revelling-Stewards..the Lord and his people shall abhorr them.
1728 R. Savage Bastard 45 Lordly neglectful of a worth unknown.
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 92 The paughty, feudal Thane,..Wha thinks himsel nae sheep-shank bane, But lordly stalks.
1809 W. Combe Schoolmaster's Tour in Poet. Mag. Nov. 9 If I..remember right, I was most lordly drunk last night.
1864 G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) II. 263 Who is yon lordly-dressed man who is walking along the street?
1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. III 279 In a land where few were poor, if none Were lordly rich.
1918 S. S. Jacquelin Bitterness of Dawn 15 Just to find on her unveiling (And he lordly cursed the jade), That the wife he was caressing Was his lady's serving maid.
1945 D. Thomas Fern Hill in Horizon Oct. 221 And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves Trail with daisies and barley Down the rivers of the windfall light.
2002 Amer. Poetry Rev. July 40/2 The unsurpassed peace of a poem (and eye) to which poetry has lordly and lovingly come.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.OE
adv.a1398- to be in a fair way to do something
- to be in a fidge
- to be in a hat
- to be in a low key
- to be in a management
- to be in a miff
- to be in a mind
- to be in a month's mind
- to be in a mood
- to be in a muck
- to be in a nonplus
- to be in a person's beard
- to be in a person's black books
- to be in a person's books
- to be in a person's face
- to be in a person's favour
- to be in a person's good grace
- to be in a person's good graces
- to be in a person's grace
- to be in a person's possession
- to be in a puzzle
- to be in a state
- to be in a wax
- to be in a way
- to be in a way of