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dame

 - 3 dictionary results

dame

  [deym]
Use dame in a Sentence
–noun
1. (initial capital letter) (in Britain)
a. the official title of a female member of the Order of the British Empire, equivalent to that of a knight.
b. the official title of the wife of a knight or baronet.
2. (formerly) a form of address to any woman of rank or authority.
3. a matronly woman of advanced age; matron.
4. Slang: Sometimes Offensive. a woman; female.
5. Ecclesiastical. a title of a nun in certain orders.
6. a mistress of a dame-school.
7. Archaic. the mistress of a household.
8. Archaic. a woman of rank or authority, esp. a female ruler.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME < OF < L domina, fem. of dominus lord, master
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dame   (dām)   
n.  

  1. Used formerly as a courtesy title for a woman in authority or a mistress of a household.

    1. A married woman; a matron.

    2. An elderly woman.

    3. A woman holding a nonhereditary title conferred by a sovereign in recognition of personal merit or service to the country.

    4. The wife or widow of a knight.

    5. Used as the title for such a woman.

  3. Slang A woman.

  4. Chiefly British

    1. A woman holding a nonhereditary title conferred by a sovereign in recognition of personal merit or service to the country.

    2. The wife or widow of a knight.

    3. Used as the title for such a woman.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin domina, feminine of dominus, lord, master; see dem- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dame 
c.1225, from O.Fr. dame, from L.L. domna, from L. domina "lady, mistress of the house," from L. domus "house" (see domestic). Legal title for the wife of a knight or baronet. Slang sense of "woman" first attested 1902 in Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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