noun
lad
LAD/læd/
A boy or young man.
The young lad stands casually in ordinary clothes with a friendly expression.
Etymology
Middle English ladde could name a young servant or a man of low status. The later meaning “boy or young man” shed that contemptuous association and can now be affectionate; the deeper origin remains obscure.
In context
the poor lad had not gone far when his father called him back
More examples
- She remembers him as a shy lad with a quick smile.
- Two lads wait outside the gym for their coach.
- As a lad, my grandfather dreamed of becoming a pilot.
Forms
lad · lads