Meaning of ladyness | Babel Free

Definitions

Alternative spelling of ladiness.

alt-of, alternative, uncountable

Examples

“Miss⟳ MacGooden, humorless, prim, ugly, with a face⟳ like⟳ dried leather, prided herself on being a “lady” from one of the best families—an uncle had been a congressman in the period of the Reconstruction. She was therefore, Helga Crane reflected, perhaps unable to perceive that the inducement to act like⟳ a lady, her own⟳ acrimonious example, was slight, if not altogether negative. And thinking on Miss⟳ MacGooden’s “ladyness,” Helga grinned a little as she remembered that one’s expressed reason⟳ for never having married, or intending to marry⟳.”

“In those days, most girls in Guangdong and Fujian had bound feet to show⟳ their “ladyness”.”

“It was precisely this labor of performing ladyhood that allowed the dictionary definition of lady to shift from primarily meaning “a woman of high social position” to a “woman who behaves in a polite way.” The shift from position to behavior did not completely unmoor “lady” from race⟳ and class hierarchies, but it did require⟳ a different set⟳ of behaviors and rituals of ladyness in order⟳ to maintain⟳ those hierarchies.”

CEFR level