lad

Translingual

Symbol

lad

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Ladino.

English

Etymology

From Middle English ladde (“foot soldier, servant; male commoner; boy”), from late Old English *ladda (attested in Old English personal byname Ladda), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Old Norse ladd (“hose, woolen stocking; sock”), which may have undergone semantic shift to mean a term of abuse (e.g. foolish youth, youngster of lower social status, etc.); thence by connotative amelioration coming to mean any young fellow. Compare Norwegian ladd (“rough sock, woolen or felt slipper”) and the -ladd in compounds Askeladd/Askeladden (a nickname in fairy tales, "Ash Lad") and tusseladd (“nincompoop”). See also Swedish ladder (“old shoes”), lodde (“Frisian shoe”), lädder (“socks”), all said to be related to Old Norse loðinn (“hairy, shaggy, woolly”), loddi (“shaggy dog”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /læd/
• (unstressed, sometimes) (rare) IPA^(key): /ləd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æd

Noun

lad (plural lads)

1. A boy or young man.

   Coordinate term: lass

   • 1776, John Woolman, chapter XI, in A Journal of the Life, Gospel Labours, and Christian Experiences of that Faithful Minister of Jesus Christ, John Woolman, ‎, Dublin: Printed by R. Jackson, page 209:

     How great is that danger, to which poor lads are now exposed, when placed on shipboard to learn the art of sailing! Five lads, training up for the seas, were now on board this ship; […]

   • 1850, T. S. Arthur, “Deacon Smith and his Violin”, in Sketches of Life and Character‎, Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 70:

     The lad, his son, had obtained a Jew's-harp, and learned to play upon it the profane airs of "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia," "St. Patrick's Day," and "Auld Lang Syne."

2. (British) A hedonistic or irresponsible young man; A Jack the lad.

   Coordinate term: ladette

   I think he reckons he’s a bit of a lad.

   Last night I was out drinking with the lads.

3. A familiar term of address for a young man.

   Come here, lad, and help me shift these boxes.

4. A groom who works with horses.

   Synonyms: stable boy, stable lad

5. (Ireland, colloquial) The penis.
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, page 225:

     — The lad stood to attention anyhow, he said with a sigh. She's a gamey mare and no mistake.

   • 1995 May 5, Graham Linehan, Arthur Matthews, “The Passion of St Tibulus”, in Father Ted:

     Mrs Glynn: Oh but there's this great bit in it. You see, there was this girl, but then you find out it's not a girl but a man!
     Mrs Sheridan: And he got his lad out.

   • 2007, anonymous author, translated by Ciaran Carson, The Táin, →ISBN, page 175:

     And he loaded the chariot with clods and boulders and cobbles that he fired at anyone who came to stare at him and jeer him, stark naked as he was, with his long lad and his acorns dangling down through the floor of the chariot.

   • 2010, Loucinda McGary, The Wild Irish Sea: A Windswept Tale of Love and Magic, →ISBN, page 11:

     Just thinking about how she would look without her clothes made his lad twitch with anticipation.

Usage notes

Prevalent in Northern English dialects such as Geordie, Mackem, Scouse and Northumbrian.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

• Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, →ISBN
• A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin,
• A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896,
• A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN

Further reading

• lad at The Septic's Companion: A British Slang Dictionary
• “lad”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “lad”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• ADL, DAL, DLA, Dal, LDA, dal

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

lad

1. genitive plural of lado

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Danish lat, from Old Norse latr, from Proto-Germanic *lataz, from Proto-Indo-European *lē(y)d-.

Adjective

lad

1. languid, lazy, indolent

Inflection

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlað (“heap, stack”).

Noun

lad n (singular definite ladet, plural indefinite lad)

1. bed (platform of a truck, trailer, railcar, or other vehicle that supports the load to be hauled), e.g. truckbed

Inflection

Etymology 3

Verb

lad

1. imperative of lade

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

lad m (plural lads)

1. stable lad; stable hand

Further reading

• “lad”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

German

Verb

lad

1. singular imperative of laden

Middle English

Noun

lad

1. Alternative form of ladde

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

lad

1. imperative of lade

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɑːd/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *laidō. Cognate with Old High German leita (German Leite), Old Norse leið. Akin to līþan (“to go, travel, fare”).

Noun

lād f

1. carrying, bringing, leading
2. way, course
3. passage, watercourse
4. provision, sustenance

Declension

Derived terms

• lādmann
• lādsċipe
• lādtēow
• lǣdan

Descendants

• English: load; lode

Etymology 2

Akin to Old Frisian lēde, lāde.

Noun

lād f

1. excuse (+ genitive for something)
2. apology (+ genitive for something)
3. defense or exoneration (+ genitive against an accusation)

Declension

Derived terms

• lādian
• werlād

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lat/
• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: lad

Noun

lad f

1. genitive plural of lada

Romansch

Alternative forms

• lo (Sutsilvan)

Etymology

From Latin lātus.

Adjective

lad m (feminine singular lada, masculine plural lads, feminine plural ladas)

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan) wide, broad

Synonyms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran) lartg
• (Puter, Vallader) larg

Scots

Alternative forms

• laddie - most common usage

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *laidō. Cognate with Old High German leita (German Leite), Old Norse leið. Akin to līþan (“to go, travel, fare”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lad/, /lɑd/

Noun

lad (plural lads)

1. lad
2. son
3. menial
4. male sweetheart

Volapük

Noun

lad (nominative plural lads)

1. heart

Declension

Derived terms

• ladik

Waigali

Etymology

Borrowed from Bactrian λαδο (lado, “law”). Cognate with Ashkun lā́t (“peace, settlement”), Kamkata-viri lót, lód (“peace, settlement”), Prasuni lad (“peace”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lád/

Noun

lad

1. right

   Ũmë lad oi.

   It's my right.

References

• Jakob Halfmann (2023) Lād "law": a Bactrian loanword in the Nuristani languages, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom, pages 1-2