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Several synonyms are used in the UK: bloke, chap, lad. What's the difference between them?

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Not enough data. Cannot compute. Please supply the results of your research with dictionary and thesaurus (so others don't repeat that) and provide some context. Some words have different connotations depending on where they are used. – Andrew Leach Dec 6 '12 at 10:18
@AndrewLeach I saw the word 'bloke' in the computer game, referring to the Nazies: 'those bloody blokes'. I know, that the word 'lad' is quite often used by the Scots. And just wanted to understand, in what contexts could these synonyms be used and to what extent they are interchangeable. – user4035 Dec 6 '12 at 11:38
This question is incomplete. Please edit to include your research results and sources you have consulted. Voting to close "not a real question" in the meantime. – MετάEd Dec 6 '12 at 15:46
@MετάEd Added the data. – user4035 Dec 6 '12 at 19:44
What do you mean by “my British fellow”? Presumably someone over here on an academic fellowship, I should hope. – tchrist Dec 6 '12 at 23:40
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1 Answer

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Merriam-Webster says:

  1. bloke — "(British, informal) man, fellow"
  2. chap — "(British) fellow. Origin of chap: chapman"
  3. lad — "a male person of any age between early boyhood and maturity"

So, it seems, that lad can be related only to a young person. While chap and bloke to any male person.

My British fellow said:

Chap is more delicate; bloke is rougher a bit. Chap is posh, bloke is common.

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protected by RegDwighт♦ Dec 24 '12 at 17:01

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