Lordship

Lordship

Noun · /ˈlɔːd.ʃɪp/

Definition

The state, rank, or authority of a lord; the territory or domain ruled by a lord; Your Lordship / His Lordship — a respectful or formal form of address for a lord, judge, or bishop; the quality of behaving like a lord.

Origin

From lord (from Old English hlāfweard) + -ship (the suffix forming abstract nouns denoting state, condition, rank, or office — from Old English -scipe). Lordship has been in English since the Old English period. The suffix -ship is cognate with the verb shape — it originally denoted the creation or condition of something.