lord Italian · revision 39101

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1668, Lorenzo Magalotti|origins=ang hlāford}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlɔrd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lord''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ The plural is invariable or the English ''lords''; the older Italianized forms ''lordo'' and ''lorde'', with the plural ''lordi'', are now disused.^(GDLI)^(DEI)^(Prati 1951|602)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|en|lord]], the British title.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The English word comes from [[ang|hlāford|t=master, lord]], literally “keeper of the bread”, a compound of [[m|ang|hlāf|t=bread, loaf]] and [[m|ang|weard|t=guardian]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto 1968) DEI compares [[de|Laib|t=loaf]] and [[la|lībum|t=cake]], and notes that French borrowed the title in 1558.^(DEI|2270) The same origin is shared by [[lady]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The more common [[milord]] is the English phrase “my lord”.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|602)

+

+ ==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.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) Antonio Cocchi (before 1758) explains that the peers of the realm, from dukes down to barons, are all called ''Lordi'', that is, ''signori''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|9, 218)

+

+ ==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''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) 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.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) DELI notes that the dialects gave it positive senses, as in Genoese [[m|lij|lorde]] “a great gentleman”.^(DELI 1999) DEI records the religious use for God or Jesus.^(DEI|2270)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1558 – French borrows the English title.^(DEI|2270)

+ * 1668 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses ''Lord'' of the English nobility.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1758 – Antonio Cocchi uses the plural ''Lordi''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo records the figurative sense “rich, elegant gentleman”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' A British title given to [[pari|alt=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''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(by extension)'' A man of refined tastes and lordly manners, who dresses with great elegance: ''Con quel cappotto sembra un lord.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[milord]]

+ * [[lady]]

+ * [[en|lord]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Italian the word is usually pronounced /lɔrd/, beside the English pronunciation.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Camera dei Lords'' is the House of Lords, and ''Lord Mayor'' the mayor of London and some other English cities.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}