Old English · noun

hlaford

Normalised hlāford

Part of speech: noun, masculine
Declension: strong a-stem
IPA: /ˈxlɑː.ford/
[ˈl̥ɑː.vorˠd]
Syllables: ˈxlɑː · ford (2 syllables)
Modern English: lord hlaford laird servants slaves superior nobleman sovereign

Meaning

lord, master of servants or slaves

c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters. They will either hate one and love the other, or obey one and disobey the other. You can't serve God and money.
a man of superior rank; sovereign, ruler; nobleman

Ohthere sǣde his hlāforde, Ælfrēde, þæt hē ealra Norðmanna norðmest būde.

Ohthere said to his lord, Alfred, that he lived the farthest north of all the Norsemen.
Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan
male head of a household

[…] ymbe ðet lond et Cert ðe hire eðelmōd hire hlābard salde.
831, charter in Henry Sweet, The oldest English texts, 445
master, owner of an animal

Sē oxa oncnēow his hlāford, and sē assa his hlāfordes binne.

The ox knows his master, and the ass his master's bin.
c. 992, Ælfric, "Sermon on the Nativiity of Our Lord"

From earlier hlāfweard, from hlāf (“bread”) + weard (“ward”). See also hlǣfdīġe.

hlaford, laird, lord