{{Short description|British title}} {{about|the terminology|other uses|Milord (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{italic title}} '''''Milord''''' ({{IPA|fr|milɔʁ|lang}}) is a term for an Englishman, especially a noble, traveling in Continental Europe. The term was used in both French and English from the 16th century. It derives ultimately from the English phrase "my lord", which was borrowed into Middle French as ''millourt'' or ''milor'', meaning a noble or rich man.<ref name=OED>{{cite OED|milord}}</ref>
==History== The Middle French term ''millourt'', meaning a nobleman or a rich man, was in use by around 1430. It appears to be a borrowing of the English phrase "my lord", a term of address for a lord or other noble. Later French variants include ''milourt'' and ''milor''; the form ''milord'' was in use by at least 1610. It was reborrowed into English by 1598, in the sense of an English noble generally, or one travelling in Continental Europe more specifically.<ref name=OED/> Today, the term is rarely used except humorously.<ref name=OED/> "Milord" has also been used for an automotive bodystyle also known as a three-position convertible or Victoria Cabriolet.<ref name=types35>{{citation | ref = IDABS | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6GQoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35 | title = Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles, 2d ed. | first = Lennart W. | last = Haajanen | page = 35 | date = 2017-05-23 | publisher = McFarland | isbn = 9780786499182 }}</ref>
The equivalent in Italian is ''milordo''.<ref>{{cite OED|milordo}}</ref> In Greece, the equivalent was "O Lordos". Lord Byron, who was involved in the Greek War of Independence, was known as "O Lordos" (The Lord), or "Lordos Veeron" (as the Greeks pronounced it), causing things as varied as hotels, ships, cricket teams, roads and even suburbs to be called "Lord Byron" today.<ref>{{cite web | title=On this day| website=Wrecksite| url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wrecked-on-this-day.aspx?05/11/2009%20 | access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mytravelguide.com/hotels/profile-18518303-Cyprus_Larnaca_Lordos_Beach_Hotel.html |title=Lordos Beach Hotel, Larnaca | MyTravelGuide.com |access-date=2010-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050523191036/http://www.mytravelguide.com/hotels/profile-18518303-Cyprus_Larnaca_Lordos_Beach_Hotel.html |archive-date=2005-05-23 }}</ref>
The term provided the title for the 1959 French "Milord" sung by Edith Piaf.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asklyrics.com/display/edith-piaf/milord-lyrics.htm|title=Edith Piaf - Milord Lyrics|date=October 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025044115/http://www.asklyrics.com/display/edith-piaf/milord-lyrics.htm |archive-date=2009-10-25 }}</ref>
==Alternative legal use== {{More citations needed|section|date=July 2021}} "Milord" (in this use generally pronounced as, and sometimes written as, "M'lud": {{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|l|ʌ|d|}}) is not used in legal settings in the United Kingdom anymore, instead the form of address for several types of judges is just "My Lord".<ref>{{cite web |title=What do I call a judge? |url=https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/what-do-i-call-a-judge/ |website=Courts and Tribunals Judiciary |date=19 February 2010 |access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Addressing a Judge |url=https://judiciary.scot/home/judiciary/judicial-office-holders/court-titles-robes/addressing-a-judge |website=Judiciary of Scotland |access-date=17 October 2023}}</ref> Some courts in Canada and in India also use the phrase.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}
It is common to see (in television or film portrayals of British courtrooms) barristers addressing the judge as "M'lud". This was the usual pronunciation until about the middle of the twentieth century in courts in which the judge was entitled to be addressed as "My Lord".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary s.v. "m'lud" (noun), which includes examples from 1853 (Dickens ''Bleak House'' i. 4 ''"‘Mr. Tangle,’ says the Lord High Chancellor... ‘Mlud,’ says Mr. Tangle."'') and 1979 (Jo Grimond ''Memoirs'' iv. 67 ''"We coached him in all the palaver of the court,..the ‘Yes m'lud’ and ‘No m'lud’."'')</ref> However, it is a pronunciation which is now obsolete and no longer heard in court.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Wiktionary-inline}}
{{Imperial, royal, and noble styles}}
Category:Archaic English words and phrases Category:Noble titles Category:English words