lord

views updated May 18 2018

lord / lôrd/ • n. someone or something having power, authority, or influence: lord of the sea | lords of the jungle. ∎  (in the UK) a man of noble rank or high office; a peer. ∎  (Lord) (in the UK) a title given formally to a baron, and less formally to a marquess, earl, or viscount (prefixed to a family or territorial name): Lord Derby. ∎  (the Lords) (in the UK) the House of Lords, or its members collectively. ∎  (Lord) (in the UK) a courtesy title given to a younger son of a duke or marquess (prefixed to a Christian name): Lord John Russell. ∎  (in the UK) in compound titles of other people of authority: Lord High Executioner. ∎ hist. a feudal superior, esp. the proprietor of a manor house. ∎  a master or ruler: our lord the king. ∎  (Lord) a name for God or Christ: give thanks to the Lord. ∎ dated Astrol. the ruling planet of a sign, house, or chart.• interj. (Lord) used in exclamations expressing surprise or worry, or for emphasis: Lord, I'm cold!• v. 1. [tr.] archaic confer the title of Lord upon.2. (lord it over) act in a superior and domineering manner toward (someone).PHRASES: live like a lord live sumptuously.Lord (God) of hosts God as Lord over earthly or heavenly armies.lord of the manor the owner of a manor house (formerly the master of a feudal manor).Lord of Misrule hist. a person presiding over Christmas games and revelry in a wealthy household.the Lord's Day Sunday.the Lord's Prayer the prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, beginning “Our Father.”the Lord's Supper the Eucharist; Holy Communion (esp. in Protestant use).My Lord (in the UK) a polite form of address to judges, bishops, and certain noblemen.Our Lord Christ.DERIVATIVES: lord·less adj.lord·like / -ˌlik/ adj.

lord

views updated May 29 2018

lord a man of noble rank or high office, a peer. In the UK, the House of Lords is the chamber of Parliament which until 1999 was composed of hereditary and life peers and bishops; reform of the method of selecting the chamber is currently under way.

Our Lord is a name for Christ, and the Lord's Prayer is the prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, as recorded in Matthew 6:9–13; the term is a translation of Latin oratio Dominica, and is first recorded in the Book of Common Prayer of 1549.
Lord Mayor's Day 9 November, the day on which the Lord Mayor of London goes in procession with the Aldermen and other city dignitaries to and from Westminster, where he receives from the Lord Chancellor the assent of the Crown to his election. The procession is known as the Lord Mayor's show.
Lord of Hosts God; a title of Jehovah in the Old Testament, sometimes referring to the heavenly hosts, and sometimes to the armies of Israel.
Lord of the Isles a title of the early lords of Argyll as rulers of the Western Isles; the title forfeited in 1493, and was merged in the Crown of Scotland in 1540.
Lord of the Rings in Tolkien's trilogy of that name (1954–5), a title of Sauron, the Dark Lord, referring to the rings of power made for dwarves, elves, and men, and especially to the One Ring which confers magical powers, including invisibility, on its holder.
Lord Protector of the Commonwealth a title of Oliver Cromwell, established in an Act of 1653.

lord

views updated May 17 2018

lord master, ruler, †husband OE.; designation of rank XIV; peer of the realm XV. OE. hlāford, once hlāfweard, f. Gmc. *χlaib- LOAF + *ward- keeper, WARD1. The etymol. sense expresses the relation of the head of a household to his dependants who ‘eat his bread’. The word is, like LADY, a peculiarly Eng. formation. It was reduced to one syll. (XIV) by the fall of v in lōverd and contr. of the vowels.
Hence vb. XIII. lordly OE. hlāfordliċ. lordship OE. hlāfordsċipe.

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