Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Dame

(dām)

Noun.

[F.

dame

, LL.

domna

, fr. L.

domina

mistress, lady, fem. of

dominus

master, ruler, lord; akin to

domare

to tame, subdue. See

, and cf.

a mother,

Noun.

A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a woman in authority; especially, a lady.

Then shall these lords do vex me half so much,
As that proud

dame

, the lord protector’s wife.

Shakespeare

The mistress of a family in common life, or the mistress of a common school;

as, a

dame's

school

In the

dame's

classes at the village school.

Emerson.

A woman in general, esp. an elderly woman.

A mother; – applied to human beings and quadrupeds.

[Obs.]

Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Dame

DAME

Noun.

[Gr., to subdue] Literally, a mistress; hence, a lady; a title of honor to a woman. It is now generally applied to the mistress of a family in the common ranks of life; as is its compound, madam. In poetry, it is applied to a woman of rank, In short, it is applied with propriety to any woman who is or has been the mistress of a family, and it sometimes comprehends women in general.

Definition 2024

Dame

See also: dame, damé, dáme, and Damɛ

English

Noun

Dame ‎(plural Dames)

(Britain) The titular prefix given to a female knight

Coordinate terms

Sir
(titles) (of a man): Mr (Mister, mister), Sir (sir); (of a woman): Ms (Miz, mizz), Mrs (Mistress, mistress), Miss (miss), Dame (dame), (of a non-binary person): Mx (Mixter); (see also): Dr (Doctor, doctor), Madam (madam, ma'am) ^{(Category: en:Titles)}

Translations

titular prefix given to a female

Irish: Dáma f

Maori: Kahurangi

German

Etymology

From French dame, from Latin domina ‎(“mistress, lady”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdaːmə/
Hyphenation: Da‧me

Noun

Dame f ‎(genitive Dame, plural Damen)

lady (woman of good breeding and manners)
lady; madam (polite term to refer to any woman)
(chess, card games) queen

Usage notes

Concerning the use of the word as a polite term for any woman, note the following tendencies:

It is common to refer to a woman as Dame when one speaks of her in her presence. Frau might even be slightly impolite in such a context.

Ich glaube, die Dame war vor mir dran. — “I think this lady was in line before me.”

Dame used as a general term of address (“die Dame!” – madam!), or when speaking about someone who is not present, marks a consciously polite way of speaking, most often heard from waiters, shop assistants, etc. In popular speech, it may be used to refer to an elderly woman but rarely to a young or middle-aged one.
Dame is common in some specific contexts, such as ballroom dancing.

Declension

Declension of Dame

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Dame	die	Damen
genitive	einer	der	Dame	der	Damen
dative	einer	der	Dame	den	Damen
accusative	eine	die	Dame	die	Damen

Derived terms

Empfangsdame

Chess pieces in German · Schachfiguren, Schachsteine (layout · text)

König	Dame, Königin	Turm	Läufer	Springer, Pferd, Ross, Rössel	Bauer

Noun

Dame n ‎(invariable, no plural)

(board games) draughts; checkers

Usage notes

This word is not inflected and generally cannot take any articles, determiners, or adjectives. If such words were used with it, they would take neuter forms: Er spielt ein gutes Dame. (“He plays good checkers.”) This is grammatically doubtful, however. The full form Damespiel is preferable in such contexts.

Synonyms

Damespiel

dame

See also: Dame, damé, dáme, and Damɛ

English