lord

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A man of high rank in a feudal society or in one that retains feudal forms and institutions, especially:
2. n. A king.
3. n. A territorial magnate.
4. n. The proprietor of a manor.
5. n. The House of Lords.
6. n. Chiefly British The general masculine title of nobility and other rank:
7. n. Chiefly British Used as a form of address for a marquis, an earl, or a viscount.
8. n. Chiefly British Used as the usual style for a baron.
9. n. Chiefly British Used as a courtesy title for a younger son of a duke or marquis.
10. n. Chiefly British Used as a title for certain high officials and dignitaries: Lord Chamberlain; the Lord Mayor of London.
11. n. Chiefly British Used as a title for a bishop.
12. n. God.
13. n. Christianity Jesus.
14. n. A man of renowned power or authority.
15. n. A man who has mastery in a given field or activity.
16. n. Archaic The male head of a household.
17. n. Archaic A husband.
18. v. To act like a lord; domineer. Often used with the indefinite it: lorded it over their subordinates.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A master or ruler; a man possessing supreme authority or power of control; a monarch, governor, chief, proprietor, or paramount disposer.
2. n. [capitalized] In Scripture, and in general Christian use, the Supreme Being; Jehovah: with the definite article except in address; also applied to Christ, who is called the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord, or our Lord. The word Lord also appears to be used of the Holy Ghost in 2 Cor. iii. 17 (referring to Ex. xxxiv.). In the English version of the Old Testament, LORD, when so printed, is a translation of, or rather substitute for, the Hebrew Jahveh, or Jehovah. In the English version of the New Testament it is a translation of the Greek Κύριος (Latin Dominus), variously translated God, Lord, Master, Owner, Sir.
3. n. A title of respect formerly given to persons of superior rank or consideration, especially in the phrase of address ‘my lord,’ as to kings and princes, monks or other ecclesiastics, a husband, etc.: still used humorously of a husband with reference to his wife.
4. n. The proprietor of a manor; the grantor under whom feudal tenants held, for whom he was to some extent responsible, and over whom he had authority. The word, with its meaning modified, is retained in the modern term landlord.
5. n. A nobleman; a title of honor in Great Britain given to those who are noble by birth or creation: applied to peers of the realm, of Scotland, and of Ireland, including dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons. Archbishops and bishops also are addressed by this title. A nobleman is customarily addressed as My lord, and the holder of a noble title, whether by right or by courtesy, is frequently (a baron ordinarily) designated Lord: thus, the Marquis of Salisbury is spoken of as Lord Salisbury, his eldest son Viscount Cranborne (courtesy title) as Lord Cranborne, etc. The younger sons of dukes and marquises have the courtesy title Lord prefixed to their Christian names: as, Lord Randolph Churchill (son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough).
6. n. An honorary title bestowed in Great Britain on certain official personages, generally as part of a designation. The mayors of London, York, and Dublin, and the provosts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Perth, and Dundee have this title; also, all judges while presiding in court, and the members of the College of Justice in Scotland.
7. n. One who goes foremost through the harvest with the seythe or the sickle.
8. n. In Great Britain and Ireland, the principal official of a county, who has under him deputy lieutenants, and controls the appointment of justices of the peace and the issue of commissions in the local military organizations. The office was originally created for the defense of the counties in times of disturbance.
9. n. The love-feast or agape, especially in the primitive church, whether accompanying the sacrament or apart from it.
10. To raise to the rank of a lord; hence, to treat, address, or acknowledge as lord or master.
11. To rule or preside over as lord.
12. To play the lord; domineer; rule with arbitrary or despotic sway: sometimes followed by over, and sometimes by the indefinite it, with or without over.
13. n. In astrology, a planet that exercises dominion: thus, the ruler of the sign or the cusp of the first house in a nativity is termed lord of the ascendant or of the geniture. See lord of the ascendant, under ascendant, 1.
14. n. A hunchback.

Wiktionary

1. n. obsolete The master of a household.
2. n. A person having formal authority over others, a ruler.
3. n. A person enjoying great respect in a community.
4. n. An aristocrat, a man of high rank in a feudal society or in one that retains feudal forms and institutions.
5. n. An owner, a master.
6. n. A titled nobleman or aristocrat
7. n. familiar, dated An affectionate term for one's boyfriend or husband.
8. n. Wicca Alternative form of Lord.
9. v. Domineer or act like a lord.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. engraving A hump-backed person; -- so called sportively.
2. n. One who has power and authority; a master; a ruler; a governor; a prince; a proprietor, as of a manor.
3. n. engraving A titled nobleman., whether a peer of the realm or not; a bishop, as a member of the House of Lords; by courtesy; the son of a duke or marquis, or the eldest son of an earl; in a restricted sense, a baron, as opposed to noblemen of higher rank.
4. n. engraving A title bestowed on the persons above named; and also, for honor, on certain official persons
5. n. A husband.
6. n. (Feudal Law) One of whom a fee or estate is held; the male owner of feudal land
7. n. The Supreme Being; Jehovah.
8. n. (Christianity) The Savior; Jesus Christ.
9. v. rare To invest with the dignity, power, and privileges of a lord.
10. v. rare To rule or preside over as a lord.
11. v. To play the lord; to domineer; to rule with arbitrary or despotic sway; -- sometimes with over; and sometimes with it in the manner of a transitive verb.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a person who has general authority over others
2. n. a titled peer of the realm
3. v. make a lord of someone
4. n. terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God