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lad

Pronunciation: /læd/

The English word “lad” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A boy or young man.
  2. A hedonistic or irresponsible young man; A Jack the lad.
  3. A familiar term of address for a young man.
  4. A groom who works with horses.
  5. The penis.
  6. A scammer.

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…

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