Sep 22, 2011 · According to the Oxford English Dictionary, milady emerged in 1778 that partially came from French: Partly < French milady , title used when addressing or speaking of an English lady of high rank (1727 in Voltaire; 1754 as milédi ) < English my lady (see lady n. 3a), and partly representing a colloquial pronunciation of my lady (see above).

@rbhattarai Sometimes "real lady" means "having female organs" in addition to identifying as female. Pretty much anything involving gender is a wide, deep and densely packed minefield of mixed meanings (and extreme sensitivity to vicariously perceived slights).

@JanusBahsJacquet I would disagree. Lady has always had paternalistic connotations, for hundreds of years. In fact, it still does, even in other languages, e.g. madame from French --> ma dame literally meaning my lady, implying ownership. 'Back in the day', women were essentially bartering tools and that has just recently started to change.

Feb 18, 2015 · In my view, the simplest and most elegant solution is to start off simply with. Dear ladies and gentlemen, having made sure to include the names of all the recipients in the postal address block pertaining to the addressees (if you are sending everyone a paper copy of the letter), so that all of them are able to see who else is covered by your salutation.

Dec 18, 2013 · Why are women called chicks? Is there a negative connotation, I do assume there are sexist undertones there. Any idea about the etymology or origin of the term? Is it derived, in anyway, from 'chic'

Ladies is the plural form of lady, so the apostrophe goes to the right - ladies'. If you are wondering why we don't write ladies's, it is because ladies is one of the exceptions, along with girls', parents', players', weeks' and even Klingons' It can get a bit niggly with names too. Aristophanes' plays, but Jesus's miracles and (usually) James ...

Right, I have heard it being used in the manner you've talked about before, but I wasn't sure if there was a hidden subtext of irony there or not. A kind of delicate way to say "that woman looks like a man!" In this movie, Lady Penbroke really couldn't be described as such; even with the getup and everything, she looked "classically beautiful."

Apr 28, 2014 · A gentleman will always follow a lady when going up stairs, in case she should fall over. A gentleman will always precede a lady going down stairs for the same reason. In both cases a gentleman would never stare, indecently or otherwise, at any parts of a ladies anatomy. –

Jun 23, 2016 · When I was at school in the 1960s in the UK, we called our male teachers "Sir", and most of our female teachers "Miss", but one married female teacher disliked being referred to as "Miss" — and "Mrs" is not generally acceptable as a polite form of address — so she insisted on being called "Ma'am".

Mar 20, 2011 · I'm not sure whether 'Mrs' or 'Ms' is preferred when the context clearly shows that the lady is married. I'm old-fashioned enough to think it should be 'Mrs', but modern style might use 'Ms'. The referenced URL did not place brackets around the maiden name.