dame /deɪm 
/ ▸ noun 1 (Dame) (in the UK) the title given to a woman with the rank of Knight Commander or holder of the Grand Cross in the Orders of Chivalry: Dame Vera Lynn.
2 archaic an elderly or mature woman: a matronly dame presided at the table.
▪ North American English informal, dated a woman: a rich dame who took her husband to the cleaners.
▪ British English (also pantomime dame) a comic middle-aged female character in modern pantomime, usually played by a man. – ORIGIN Middle English (denoting a female ruler): via Old French from Latin domina ‘mistress’.
EnglishOxford Dictionary of English
