French word

milady

Pronunciation

IPA/miledi/

Meaning

  • feminine nounmy lady

Example

Bonsoir, milady.

Good evening, my lady.

Illustration for milady (my lady)

More examples

Elle se fait appeler milady sur les réseaux sociaux.

She goes by milady on social media.

Core concept

A ceremonious noblewoman whose title signals rank and formal respect.

Similar words

madame: A courteous form of address used for an adult woman.
mademoiselle: A form of address used for a young or unmarried woman.
dame: A respectful word for a woman.

Definition in French

Titre d'adresse vieilli et littéraire employé pour s'adresser à une femme de haute naissance ou pour désigner une dame noble dans un récit.

Word origin

The French form milady comes from English my lady and became established in literary language as a noble title.

Usage tips

  • Milady sounds old-fashioned and theatrical in modern French, so it mainly suits historical fiction, drama, or deliberately stylized speech.

Other meanings

  • noblewomannoun
  • ladynoun

Word lists with this word