ladies

   Used to address two or more adult women politely, whether strangers, e.g. at a public meeting, friends or family. ‘Well, ladies,’ says St Clare to his wife and cousin, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, ‘and what was the bill of fare at church today?’ In modern times ‘ladies’ usually stands alone, though an elderly speaker in polite society might be heard to say ‘dear ladies’. In the plays of Shakespeare ‘fair ladies’ is often used, and ‘good ladies’ occurs in Coriolanus (2:i). Ophelia, in Hamlet (4:v), exits with ‘Good night, ladies; good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night’.