dame

(dām)

noun

  1. Archaic a title given to a woman in authority or the mistress of a household: now only in personifications: Dame Care
  2. an elderly or matronly woman
  3. in Great Britain
    1. the legal title of the wife of a knight or baronet
    2. the title of a woman who has received an order of knighthood: used always with the given name
  4. Slang a woman or girl

Origin: ME < OFr < L domina, lady, fem. of dominus, a lord: see dominate

See dame in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. Used formerly as a courtesy title for a woman in authority or a mistress of a household.
  2. a. A married woman; a matron.
    b. An elderly woman.
  3. Slang A woman.
  4. Chiefly British
    a. A woman holding a nonhereditary title conferred by a sovereign in recognition of personal merit or service to the country.
    b. The wife or widow of a knight.
    c. Used as the title for such a woman.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin domina

Origin: , feminine of dominus, lord, master; see dem- in Indo-European roots

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