saleslady

[ seylz-ley-dee ]

noun

, plural sales·la·dies.

1. a saleswoman.

Word History and Origins

Origin of saleslady¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; sales + lady

Example Sentences

We all smiled gratefully and thanked our grandmother when she pulled the tags off our new outfits, handed them to the saleslady, and said, “They’ll be wearing these out.”

From Literature

Audrey led us to the biggest dressing room after getting a nod from the saleslady at the counter.

From Literature

Then she nods to the saleslady, who disappears back into the dressing room.

From Literature

Once, I went to a fancy clothing store on Newbury Street with Mom, and a saleslady started following us around the store, looking at us like she didn’t trust us with the merchandise.

From Literature

The Women in Black is not a cheering title, but in Madeleine St John’s novel the characters are not in mourning; they are salesladies in a 1950s department store in Sydney.

From The Guardian

Related Words

• clerk

More About Saleslady

What does saleslady mean?

Saleslady is another word for a saleswoman—a woman whose job is to sell products or services.

The term saleslady is especially associated with women who work in retail stores, as opposed to those who work as saleswomen in other settings, but it can be used in either way. The terms salesperson and sales rep (or sales representative) are often used in place of terms that specify gender.

The sales in saleslady refers to the type of occupation or the division or department within a company.

A saleslady can sell directly to customers or to other businesses or organizations. Sometimes, salesladies sell things in person, such as at a retail store or dealership. They also commonly sell things over the phone or by communicating with people online.

The word saleslady can be used in a somewhat figurative way to refer to a woman who’s skilled at persuading people, especially in a business or professional setting, as if they are selling them a product. But the words salesman, saleswoman, and salesperson are more commonly used to mean this.

Example: The saleslady told me that this was the best deal she could give me.

Where does saleslady come from?

The first records of the word saleslady come from the 1850s. It’s formed the same way as saleswoman, which uses the more common ending -woman.

The job of a saleslady is to sell, and to sell they have to convince the customer to buy. For this reason, salesladies have a reputation for sometimes being aggressive or putting pressure on the customer, especially in retail settings, like furniture or electronics stores. Also contributing to this reputation is the fact that some salesladies are at least partly paid on commission—a percentage of sales that goes into their pay. Of course, this reputation isn’t always warranted—a lot of salesladies genuinely want to help you find the right product. Still, a lot of people try to avoid salesladies when shopping due to feeling pressured.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to saleslady? 

• salesladies (plural)

What are some synonyms for saleslady?

• saleswoman
• salesperson
• sales rep
• sales representative

What are some words that share a root or word element with saleslady? 

• sale
• lady
• salesmanship
• salesman

What are some words that often get used in discussing saleslady?

• retail
• customer
• commission
• product
• goods
• services
• deal
• traveling
• door-to-door
• aggressive
• pressure

How is saleslady used in real life?

Saleslady is much less commonly used than saleswoman. Both terms are often replaced with salesperson or sales rep.

@whbm I had the BEST saleslady today. Felt insecure bc I have lost about 35 lbs & she made me feel wonderful-U have my business from now on!

— brittany (@xbrittanydawnx) January 12, 2015

Mainly just want to talk about the article’s badass star: Kikue Fukuhara, recognized by Guinness as the world's oldest beauty adviser. She's worked as a saleslady for Japanese cosmetics brand Pola for ~60 yrs and sold over 300 million yen worth of products pic.twitter.com/L628UT03vP

— Lisa Du (@lisadont) December 4, 2019

RIGHT??? One time I got a nice lady at the cut counter (who hooked me up with a double discount on duck canvas) but had to deal with an aggressive sewing machine saleslady telling me my machine was trash while I was trying to give measurements

— SharpAce @Commissions OPEN! (@SharpAceArt) May 16, 2019

 

 

Try using saleslady!

Which of the following terms can be used as a synonym for saleslady?

A. sales rep
B. sales representative
C. salesperson
D. all of the above