different between lass vs lad

English

Etymology

From Middle English lasse, from Old Norse laskura (“an unmarried woman, maiden”). Cognate with Scots lassie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /læs/
• Rhymes: -æs

Noun

lass (plural lasses)

1. (archaic in some dialects, informal) A young woman or girl.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:girl

   Coordinate term: lad

2. (Tyneside, Mackem) A sweetheart.

Usage notes

Still prevalent in Scottish English, Irish English, North East England, and Yorkshire. Sometimes used poetically in other dialects of English.

Derived terms

• buffer lass
• hallelujah lass
• lasslorn

Related terms

• lad
• lassie

Translations

References

• A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, ?ISBN
• lass in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “lass”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin, [1]
• Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, ?ISBN
• 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, [2]

Anagrams

• SALs, SASL, sals

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /las/
• Rhymes: -as

Verb

lass

1. singular imperative of lassen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of lassen

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German *los, variant of l?s (“loose; free; lacking; sly, deceitful”). Compare for the short vowel Ripuarian Central Franconian loss, Dutch los. The uninflected stem of this adjective develops regularly into Luxembourgish lass, while the inflected stem yields the doublet lues (“slow, quiet”). See the English cognate loose for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l?s/

  Rhymes: -?s

Adjective

lass (masculine lassen, neuter lasst, comparative méi lass, superlative am lassten)

1. loose, unattached

Declension

Derived terms

• lassgoen
• lassloossen

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English los, from Old English los.

Noun

lass

1. loss

References

• Jacob Poole (1867) , William Barnes, editor, A glossary, with some pieces of verse, of the old dialect of the English colony in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, J. Russell Smith, ?ISBN

English

Etymology

From Middle English ladde (“foot soldier, servant; male commoner; boy”), probably of North Germanic origin, possibly from Old Norse ladd (“hose, woolen stocking; sock”), undergoing semantic shift to mean a foolish youth, youngster of lower social status; thence by connotative amelioration coming to mean any young fellow.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /læd/
• (unstressed, sometimes) (rare) IPA^(key): /l?d/
• Rhymes: -æd

Noun

lad (plural lads)

1. (Britain) A boy or young man.

   Coordinate term: lass
2. (Britain) A Jack the lad; a boyo.

   Coordinate term: ladette

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

4. A groom who works with horses (also called stable-lad).

   Synonym: stable boy

5. (Ireland, colloquial) The penis.

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

• ladhood
• signal lad

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, [1]
• 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, [2]
• 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.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “lad”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• ADL, DAL, DLA, Dal, LDA, dal

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?lat]

Noun

lad

1. genitive plural of lado

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse hlað (“heap, stack”)

Adjective

lad

1. languid, lazy, indolent

Inflection

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), eg. truckbed

Inflection

Verb

lad

1. imperative of lade

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): /l??d/

Etymology 1

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

Noun

l?d f

1. way, course
2. passage, watercourse, lode
3. carrying, bringing, leading

4. provision, sustenance

Declension

Descendants

• English: load; lode

Etymology 2

Akin to Old Frisian l?de, l?de.

Noun

l?d f

1. excuse
2. exoneration, exculpation

Declension

Derived terms

• l?dian
• werl?d

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lat/

Noun

lad f

1. genitive plural of lada

Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Sutsilvan) lo

Etymology

From Latin l?tus.

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 *laid?. Cognate with Old High German leita (German Leite), Old Norse leið. Akin to l?þan (“to go, travel, fare”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lad/, /l?d/

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