Lady just doesn’t feel right anymore

Published 12:30 pm Thursday, September 4, 2025

Someone recently called a young woman I know a "lady."

Despite the fact I had a dog named Lady MacBeth, who was frequently called just Lady, the word felt awkward in reference to this young woman.

As a reference to women, the term has fallen out of favour in recent decades.

At one time, it was reserved for women of superior social standing, particularly royalty or nobility.

Over the centuries, though, it became more or less interchangeable with women. "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen," Ladies Curling Club etc.

While it still works for some women of a certain vintage, it really doesn't wash for the younger crowd anymore.

In its definition of the word, even Oxford now refers to 'lady' as an "old-fashioned form of reference."

Its fall from grace is for good reasons.

Going all the way back to its origins, the word has always had a connotation of women being lesser. It is derived from the Old English word hlǣfdige, meaning "bread-kneader" or "loaf-kneader" whereas the male equivalent, Lord, comes from hlāfweard (bread-keeper).

A humble beginning in an era of well-defined gender roles.

But it evolved to become classist and then evolved again to entrench now outdated expectations of femininity (i.e., ladylike—demure, subordinate, well-mannered). 

It has also been used to condescend and trivialize, such as lady cop or cleaning lady, as if the work they do is substandard or less important.

It can also be downright derogatory, as in ladies of the night or bag lady.

In short, it is a term that harkens to a time when the inherent male dominance of society was taken for granted.

I'm probably overthinking it, because, well, that's what I do.

But honestly, it just doesn't feel right anymore. That's how language evolves.