Link Centre Dictionary

dame

US/deɪm/ fairly common informal slang uk us

noun

2.

a woman of refinement

  • “a chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady”

Origin

From Middle English dame, dam (“noble lady”), from Old French dame (“lady; term of address for a woman; the queen in card games and chess”), from Latin domina (“mistress of the house”), feminine form of dominus (“lord, master, ruler; owner of a residence”), or from Latin domus (“home, house”). Doublet of domina and donna.

Phrases

  • belle dame sans merci
  • dame de compagnie
  • dame school
  • grande dame

Related words

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.