Lordship is a title of respect used to address or refer to someone with the rank of lord, particularly in British nobility or as a judge. When speaking to a lord in England, you might say “Yes, your lordship” or “Thank you, my lord.” In a courtroom, lawyers may address judges as “your lordship” to show respect for their authority and position.

The word also refers to the power, authority, or territory that belongs to a lord. In medieval times, a lord's lordship included the lands he controlled and the people who lived there. A lord might rule over his lordship with fairness and wisdom, or with cruelty.

You might encounter lordship in historical novels about medieval England, where lords held great power over their lands and the people who worked them. The word carries a sense of formal dignity and old-fashioned hierarchy. Today, actual lords still exist in Britain as part of their traditional system of nobility, though their power is largely ceremonial rather than governmental.