Middle English lady continues Old English hlǣfdige with contraction and loss of the compound’s transparency.
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP RECORD
COVERAGE LEDGER ↗EDGE / 0853continuationestablished
A CLAIM
YOU CAN AUDIT.
A relationship—not a generated explanation. Both endpoints, every editorial field, every citation, and every dossier reuse are preserved below.
lady
lady; mistress of a household
OPEN NODE 850 ↗DESCENDS FROM→
PARENT / EARLIER FORM / attestedOld English · Old English · loaf kneader compoundhlǣfdige
lady; mistress of a household; loaf kneader
OPEN NODE 851 ↗01
THE COMPLETE RELATIONSHIP
EVERY FIELD, NOT A FAIRY TALE
Mistress-of-household and rank senses continue while literal morphology recedes.
No separate chronology note is attached beyond the endpoint date ranges.
Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors
established — no additional confidence note is attached.
reviewed
02
CITATION REGISTER
SOURCES ON THIS EDGE
Lady — Definition, Word History, and First Known UseEtymology: Middle English from Old English hlǣfdige
supportsAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Publishes the contraction path.
Lady — American Heritage DictionaryEtymology: Middle English lady from Old English hlǣfdige
contextAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Independently confirms the step.
03
EDITORIAL REUSE