English

Noun

ladies and gentlemen pl ‎(plural only)

1. (idiomatic) Used to address an audience.
   • 1996, The Cambridge History of American Literature, volume 8, Poetry and criticism, 1940-1995 (edited by Sacvan Bercovitch), page 408:

     […] a Master of Ceremonies' words "Ladies and gentlemen" […] interpellates those being addressed as an audience, and one that is differentiated by gender.

2. (rare and euphemistic) Public toilets: a ladies' room and a gentlemen's room.
   • 1941, Joyce Cary, Herself Surprised, Ch. xliv, p. 108:

     There are quays there and lamps and some squares of grass; a ladies and gentlemen, and a cinema.

Usage notes

Sometimes improperly used to address unisex audiences in place of the more proper ladies, gentlemen, &c. Similarly improperly used to address groups containing a single man with many women or vice versa in place of the more proper ladies and gentleman or lady and gentleman. Almost always binary and used with ladies before gentlemen out of politeness, even in feminist or gender-conscious environments.

See also

• Appendix:Special uses of possessives in English

Translations