Lady,

Lady

woman.

女士

Lady is tied to a number of words

Lady 這一詞

that seem at first glance

乍看上去與一些字源無關，其實不然

etymologically unrelated.

它的字根來自於

She traces her roots back

古英語單詞 Hlaf

to the Old English words hlaf,

意謂一條麵包

which referred to a loaf of bread

它是我們現代單詞 Loaf 和 Daege

and is the direct ancestor of our modern word loaf,

的直系祖先

and daege,

意指女傭

which meant maid

它也是 Dairy 這字的字根

and is the root of our word dairy,

意指「擠奶人工作的地方」

the place where the dairymaid works.

Hlaf 和 Daege 組合在一起便成了 Hlafdige

Together, hlaf and daege became hlafdige,

字面上的意義為「麵包女傭」

literally loaf maid,

或者，它也可以喻指「揉麵包工人」

or, more figuratively, kneader of bread.

早在第九世紀時

As early as the ninth century,

Hlafdige 其實是一位 政府公務員的情婦的名字

hlafdige was the name for a mistress of servants,

它或指一位女戶主

or the female head of the household.

在古英語中，男戶主為

The Old English word for a male head of household

Hlafweard

was hlafweard,

一個混合了 Hlaf、Loaf

a compound of hlaf, loaf,

和 Weard 的字

and weard,

它意指「守護者」

which meant keeper

它也是現代詞語

and is the word of modern words

Ward (病房) 和 Warden (典獄長) 的字根

like ward and warden.

這兩位 Hlafweard (養家的人)

Both hlafweard, the breadwinner,

和 Hlafdige (揉麵包工人)

and hlafdige, the bread kneader,

合在一起，便成了一個敬稱

came to be titles of respect,

意指一位擁有更高社會地位的公民

referring to citizens of higher social standing.

通過一種叫切分音的過程

Through a process known as syncopation,

這兩個字失去其內部音節

both words lost their internal sounds

分別成了 Lord 和 Lady

to become lord and lady, respectively.

雖然它們仍然得以用來表達禮貌

Though still an expression of courtesy,

自那時起，Lady 這敬語

lady has since moved

踏下社會地位的臺階

down the ladder of social standing

現在人們常常就只是

and is now often used

用它來稱呼一個女人

to mean simply a woman.