# Landlord. Is this a pompous name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218 "2023-07-18T15:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/21 "2023-07-20T00:53:52Z")
My landlord was named The Fifth Frogmouth Corporation. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/22 "2023-07-20T01:08:29Z")
He from Innsmouth way? ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/23 "2023-07-20T01:59:50Z")
Manhattan! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/24 "2023-07-20T07:21:18Z")
Good. At least they weren’t one of those bridge-and-tunnel eldritch horrors. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/25 "2023-07-20T08:34:54Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Actually, I believe those two terms are what usually appear in legal documents, “landlord” being more of an informal term. As a long-term renter in two states I can confirm that “lessor” and “lessee” are the standard terms in the actual legal document called a lease. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/26 "2023-07-20T11:01:34Z")
> [@UDS1](#): > > I don’t know about pompous, but its a very old word, possibly predating the concept of lords as people wrapped in ermine and wearing coronets. It dates from the feudal period where society was conceived of as a set of relationships which didn’t depend, as they do today, on the provision of capital in return for dividends or interest or the provision of labour in return for a wage, but on occupation of land in return for an obligation to provide services. Pretty much a match for what’s on Wikipedia: > **[Landlord | History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlord#History)** > > The concept of a landlord may be traced back to the feudal system of manoralism (seignorialism), where a landed estate is owned by a Lord of the Manor (mesne lords), usually members of the lower nobility which came to form the rank of knights in the high medieval period, holding their fief via subinfeudation, but in some cases the land may also be directly subject to a member of higher nobility, as in the royal domain directly owned by a king, or in the Holy Roman Empire imperial villages directl... > [@CairoCarol](#): > > “Landlady” sounds a bit sexist to me, but that’s easily fixed by referring to people as landlords regardless of gender, just as the “actor/actress” distinction has generally been dropped in favor of calling everyone an actor. It’s gender-specific, sure, just as “lord” and “lady” are gender-specific terms for men and women in certain classes of English nobility - but sexist? As in prejudiced or discriminatory? I don’t think it’s any more sexist than “king/queen,” “sir/madame,” or any of the other male/female corollary terms that are out there. I’m surprised that women want, or are even willing, to drop female-gendered titles in favor of male-gendered titles. Flipping this around, I don’t imagine many landlords would be willing to be called a landlady. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/27 "2023-07-20T11:14:25Z")
In (local) French we don’t have a direct translation for “landlord”, we usually use _propriétaire_ (“owner”) instead. Which sounds factual and harmless… but you end up with sentences like “I have to ask my owner” or “The Tremblays were thrown out by their owner”. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/28 "2023-07-20T12:24:36Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > It’s gender-specific, sure, just as “lord” and “lady” are gender-specific terms for men and women in certain classes of English nobility - but sexist? As in prejudiced or discriminatory? I don’t think it’s any more sexist than “king/queen,” “sir/madame,” or any of the other male/female corollary terms that are out there. YMMV, of course. But who cares what the gender of the property owner is? It shouldn’t matter. And if it doesn’t matter, then everyone is a landlord, or an actor, or a flight attendant (v steward and stewardess). I’ve never liked being referred to as a “lady.” At best, it implies that I should be bound by certain strictures of refined behavior (“you need to be more ladylike!”). At worst, it has slightly sullen, aggressive undertones: “Hey lady! Watch it!” Like I said, YMMV. If you have positive experiences in your life being referred to as a “lady,” then I can see why the term seems inoffensive to you. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/29 "2023-07-20T14:06:24Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > And if it doesn’t matter, then everyone is a landlord I wouldn’t mind that, but it’s going to bother some people to use a traditionally gender-suggesting term universally—like “everyone is a chairman” or “everyone is a mailman” or “everyone is a cowboy.” ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/30 "2023-07-20T15:01:55Z")
Everyone is a hu **man**. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/31 "2023-07-20T15:06:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I wouldn’t mind that, but it’s going to bother some people to use a traditionally gender-suggesting term universally—like “everyone is a chairman” or “everyone is a mailman” or “everyone is a cowboy.” We’ll know we’ve finally arrived when a Queen Charles sits on the throne. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/32 "2023-07-20T15:13:23Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I wouldn’t mind that, but it’s going to bother some people to use a traditionally gender-suggesting term universally—like “everyone is a chairman” or “everyone is a mailman” or “everyone is a cowboy.” More likely that a similar but non-gendered term will substitute, like a chair (that’s what we call the head of our board, we just leave off “man”), mail carrier, flight attendant, etc. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/33 "2023-07-20T17:31:26Z")
My late first wife was strongly anti-sexist. But was a word maven with a humorous streak. She said: > The post office has recognized they have a terminology problem. Their enlightened management has decreed that henceforth … > > > The person person will carry all the person in their person truck and put your personal person into your person box. So there! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/34 "2023-07-20T23:14:41Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I’m surprised that women want, or are even willing, to drop female-gendered titles in favor of male-gendered titles. I’m not - historically, categories labeled female get less respect, and the way language is constructed (at least most Indo-European languages) the male form is used when 1) the noun(s) are all male, 2) the speaker is uncertain if the noun(s) are all male, or 3) it’s a mixed group of male and female, so in essence the default is to the male form and the female is a special case/exception. The mere fact that, as you point out, few if any men would want to be referred as “land_lady_” further emphasizes that it is the male form that has respect, not the female. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/35 "2023-07-21T01:02:24Z")
In legal usage, “landlord” is, and always has been, a gender-neutral term. If an owner of land grants exclusive possession of the land to another person in return for rent or other compensation they are “landlord” and “tenant” respectively, regardless of the sex of either of them. “Lessor” and “lessee” are alternative terms, but they are wider terms, used in relation to leases of any property, not just land — vehicles, machinery, whatever. “Landlady” describes a woman who runs a guest-house, pub or other facility, providing short-term accommodation and other forms of hospitality to “guests” or “customers”, not “tenants”. But that’s not really a legal usage, more a common usage. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/36 "2023-07-21T09:44:01Z")
My (soon-to-be-ex) landlord is a woman. It never occurred to me to call her a landlady. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/37 "2023-07-21T10:34:53Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > “Landlords are not lords of the land, they are scum of the earth.” > Esther Rand, founder of NYC’s East Side Tenants Council. Ouch. > [@UDS1](#): > > possibly predating the concept of lords as people wrapped in ermine and wearing coronets If people are going to start referring to me as Lord Geek, I should probably get some fancier clothes. Currently my fanciest clothes are literally jeans and a T-shirt. Wearing my newer sneakers is what I consider to be “dressing up”. 😛 My tenants just call me by my first name. I guess I’m not doing this pompous thing very well. The township, utility companies, and my insurance company all insist on calling me Landlord though. I can also confirm that I have spent very little time a-leaping. > [@Broomstick](#): > > As a long-term renter in two states I can confirm that “lessor” and “lessee” are the standard terms in the actual legal document called a lease. “Landlord” and “Tenant” are more common around here (southern PA). FWIW, my standard lease uses “Lessor” and “Tenant”. It was drawn up by a lawyer. I didn’t choose the terms. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218/38 "2023-07-21T20:35:09Z")
It does not surprise me that there are regional differences in usage in the US. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-is-this-a-pompous-name/987218.md?page=1)