Word History: Loaf, lord, and lady are closely related words that testify to breads fundamental importance in the Middle Ages. Curiously, though bread was a staple food in many Indo-European cultures, loaf and its cognates occur only in the Germanic languages, and lord and lady only in English. Loaf derives from Old English hlf, bread, loaf of bread, related to Gothic hlaifs, Old Norse hleifr, and Modern German Laib, all of which mean loaf of bread. Hlf survives in Lammas, originally Hlfmaesse, Loaf-Mass, the Christian Feast of the First Fruits, traditionally celebrated on August 1. A lord, Old English hlford, was a compound meaning loaf-ward, keeper of bread, because a lord maintains and feeds his household and offers hospitality. Similarly, lady derives from Old English hlfdige, which became lady by 1382. The -dige comes from dæge, kneader, and is related to our dough. A lady, therefore, is a kneader of bread, a breadmaker. Lord and lady both retain vestiges of their original meanings, although Englands aristocrats have not been elbow deep in flour, let alone dough, for several centuries.