Definition

a woman of rank, station, or authority: such as
archaic the mistress of a household
the wife or daughter of a lord
a female member of an order of knighthood —used as a title prefixed to the given name
informal an elderly woman matron
US slang, old-fashioned woman //a classy dame

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

Examples

//She was made a dame the year before she died.
//as the grand dames of local society, they determined which charities received support

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin domina, feminine of dominus master; akin to Latin domus house — more at dome

dame

noun

Synonyms

dame

noun

ˈdām

a woman of rank, station, or authority: such as
archaic the mistress of a household
the wife or daughter of a lord
a female member of an order of knighthood —used as a title prefixed to the given name
informal an elderly woman matron
US slang, old-fashioned woman //a classy dame

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

Examples

//She was made a dame the year before she died.
//as the grand dames of local society, they determined which charities received support

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin domina, feminine of dominus master; akin to Latin domus house — more at dome

dame

noun