old lady

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a mother, usually one's own.

2. a wife.

3. a girlfriend or female lover, especially a female lover with whom one cohabits.

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old lady British  

noun

1. an informal term for mother 1 wife

2. a large noctuid moth, Mormo maura, that has drab patterned wings originally thought to resemble an elderly Victorian lady's shawl

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Etymology

Origin of old lady

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

“When she was in the mumu she was a tiny old lady.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“She passed on when I was a boy. Sweet old lady. Baked a lovely lemon cake.”

From Literature

To this, Oliver sarcastically replies, “No one needs your 17th-century old lady food and outdated social rules.”

From Salon

"Yes, I would love to go on a mission someday. When I'm an old lady, maybe I'll get a chance to go back in space."

From BBC

When he tried to replace a Bunn coffeepot with a fancier machine, the “old ladies” who come in each morning protested—“I want to see my coffee,” they said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bride
• lover
• spouse
• wife