English Explanatory Dictionary

dame

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Usually capitalized as Dame: a title equivalent to Sir for a female knight.
  2. A matron at a school, especially Eton College.
  3. In traditional pantomime: a melodramatic female often played by a man in drag.
  4. A woman.
  5. A lady, a woman.
  6. The hereditary feudal ruler (seigneur) of Sark, when the title is held by a woman in her own right.
  7. A queen.
verb
  1. To make a dame.
noun
  1. The titular prefix given to a female knight

Pronunciation

/deɪm/ en-au-dame.ogg

Word forms

dame dames daming damed

Etymology

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.

Synonyms

woman

Related words

belle dame sans merci dam dame de compagnie damsel demoiselle domina dominate dominator dominatrix domine dominie doncella donna grandam grande dame knight madam madame sir

Derived words

beldame damehood dameish damely dame school dameship damewort daming hake's-dame schooldame
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