lad
- a boy or youth.
- Informal. a familiar or affectionate term of address for a man; chap.
- British Horseracing Informal. a stable boy.
Origin of lad
LAD
Related Words
youngster, fellow, schoolboy, boy, juvenile, buddy, son, youth, runt, child, guy, stripling, kid, half-pintExamples from the Web for lad
Contemporary Examples
To release this feminist anthem through what is essentially a lad mag that guys read at barbershops?
Jenny Lewis on 'The Voyager,' the End of Rilo Kiley, and High School Classmate Angelina JolieMarlow Stern
August 17, 2014
Unlike his conservative colleagues Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, and perhaps his lad Rand, Gingrey endorsed mandatory vaccination.
The other lad is my oldest mate in the world, Tom Freud, who must have been staying with us that weekend.
The boy nailed it, but Quayle called him back, telling the lad to “add one little bit on the end” and then sounded it out for him.
As Bertie Wooster might say, a bit much to spring on a lad with a morning head.
Historical Examples
Aye, lad, and the plain things are always the hardest things to do.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
I tell you, lad, that I am all undone, like a fretted bow-string.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
Yet, it was capable of meaning much concerning the nature of the lad.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
But a sudden unaccustomed gust of affection swirled in the breast of the lad.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Wit, lad, is a catching thing, like the itch or the sweating sickness.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
lad
- a boy or young man
- informal a familiar form of address for any male
- a lively or dashing man or youth (esp in the phrase a bit of a lad)
- a young man whose behaviour is characteristic of male adolescents, esp in being rowdy, macho, or immature
- British a boy or man who looks after horses
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for lad
n.
c.1300, ladde "foot soldier," also "young male servant" (attested as a surname from late 12c.), possibly from a Scandinavian language (cf. Norwegian -ladd, in compounds for "young man"), but of obscure origin in any case. OED hazards a guess on Middle English ladde, plural of the past participle of lead (v.), thus "one who is led" (by a lord). Liberman derives it from Old Norse ladd "hose; woolen stocking." "The development must have been from 'stocking,' 'foolish youth' to 'youngster of inferior status' and (with an ameliorated meaning) to 'young fellow.'" He adds, "Words for socks, stockings, and shoes seem to have been current as terms of abuse for and nicknames of fools." Meaning "boy, youth, young man" is from mid-15c. Scottish form laddie, a term of endearment, attested from 1540s.