English
lairdship
Lairdship comes from Middle Scots lairdschip, from Old English hlāfordsċiepe ‘domination, supremacy’, and ultimately from hlāford ‘lord’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlāford‘lord’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150hlāfordsċiepeas hlāfordsċipe‘domination, supremacy’
- Early Scotsmodernlardschip
- Middle Scotsmodernlairdschip
- Englishearliest quotation 1715lairdship
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlāford‘lord’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150hlāfordsċiepeas hlāfordsċipe‘domination, supremacy’
- Early Scotsmodernlardschip
- Middle Scotsmodernlairdschip
- Englishearliest quotation 1715lairdship
Earliest quotation: 1715, S.R. Crockett: “He would as soon have thought of wearing a…”
Equivalent to laird + -ship
Latin lārdum ‘bacon fat, lard’
Old French lard ‘a cut of meat from a pig’
Middle English lard ‘Other fatty cured meat’
Scots laird ‘a lord or land owner’
English laird
Linked words
through Old English hlāford ‘lord’
through Old English hlāfordsċiepe ‘domination, supremacy’
Today it means
noun The state or condition of being a laird.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English hlāford / lairdship