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By association with gentleman, the word can refer to: A woman of gentle birth or high social position; A woman attending a great lady (as, for example, the character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth called only 'Gentlewoman', who attends Lady Macbeth). This might be a court appointment as the female equivalent to a valet de chambre.
In the English language, an honorific is a form of address conveying esteem, courtesy or respect. These can be titles prefixing a person's name, e.g.: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Mx, Sir, Dame, Dr, Cllr, Lady, or Lord, or other titles or positions that can appear as a form of address without the person's name, as in Mr President, General, Captain, Father, Doctor, or Earl.
The word comes from Old English hlǣfdige; the first part of the word is a mutated form of hlāf, "loaf, bread", also seen in the corresponding hlāford, "lord".The second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, "to knead", seen also in dough; the sense development from bread-kneader, or bread-maker, or bread-shaper, to the ordinary meaning, though not clearly to be traced historically ...
The second spouse's visibility in the public sphere has been a somewhat recent development. Although the role of the first lady as White House hostess dates from the beginning of the republic (and was typically filled by another member of the president's family if the president was unmarried or a widower), with a few exceptions, it was generally not until the late 20th century and early 21st ...
A lady's companion was a woman of genteel birth who lived with a woman of rank or wealth as retainer.The term was in use in the United Kingdom from at least the 18th century to the mid-20th century but it is now archaic.
Originally, gentleman was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the rank of gentleman comprised the younger sons of the younger sons of peers, and the younger sons of a baronet, a knight, and an esquire, in perpetual succession.
Having a first gentleman — regardless of party affiliation — would be significant. But spouses haven't always been so visible in the few recent instances of women running for president.
First Lady or First Gentleman is an unofficial title usually used for the spouse, and occasionally used for the offspring or other relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The term is also used to describe a person seen to be at the top of her profession or art.