lord

Forms

lord m (invariable)^[1] The plural is invariable or the English lords; the older Italianized forms lordo and lorde, with the plural lordi, are now disused.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English lord, the British title.^[5][6][7][1] The English word comes from Old English hlāford (“master, lord”), literally “keeper of the bread”, a compound of hlāf (“bread, loaf”) and weard (“guardian”).^{[5][6][7][8][9]} DEI compares German Laib (“loaf”) and Latin lībum (“cake”), and notes that French borrowed the title in 1558.^[10] The same origin is shared by lady.^[5][6]

The more common milord is the English phrase “my lord”.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lorenzo Magalotti's Relazione on England (1668) is DELI's first record: the younger sons of dukes, he writes, are called Lord for life out of fairness.^[5][8] Antonio Cocchi (before 1758) explains that the peers of the realm, from dukes down to barons, are all called Lordi, that is, signori.^[5][11]

Semantic evolution

In Italian the word is mainly a title of the British peerage and of some high officers of state, as in Lord Mayor and Camera dei Lords.^[7][12][8] It also took on the image of the English aristocrat: by 1869 Tommaseo records it, with a reference to the more usual milord, for a rich man of refined tastes who shows off his elegance, and today vestire come un lord is to dress with great care.^[5][12][8] DELI notes that the dialects gave it positive senses, as in Genoese lorde “a great gentleman”.^[5] DEI records the religious use for God or Jesus.^[10]

Timeline

• 1558 – French borrows the English title.^[10]
• 1668 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses Lord of the English nobility.^[5]
• Before 1758 – Antonio Cocchi uses the plural Lordi.^[5]
• 1869 – Tommaseo records the figurative sense “rich, elegant gentleman”.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (often capitalized) A British title given to peers of the realm, to some members of the nobility and to holders of certain high offices; also the person who holds it: Lord Byron.^{[7][12][13][8]}
2. (by extension) A man of refined tastes and lordly manners, who dresses with great elegance: Con quel cappotto sembra un lord.^[7][12][13]

Related words

• milord
• lady
• English lord

Usage notes

In Italian the word is usually pronounced /lɔrd/, beside the English pronunciation.^[12][8] Camera dei Lords is the House of Lords, and Lord Mayor the mayor of London and some other English cities.^[12][8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
4. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 602
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2270
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 9, 218
12. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse