Wiktionary

madam

See also: Madam and madám

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English madame, from Old French madame, from ma (“my”) + dame (“lady”), from post-classical Latin mea domina. Doublet of Madonna.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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madam (plural madams or mesdames)[2]

  1. A polite form of address for a woman or lady.
    Synonyms: dame, woman, lady, matron, mistress
    Coordinate terms: sir, gentleman
    Mrs Grey wondered if the outfit she was trying on made her look fat. The sales assistant just said, “It suits you, madam”.
    Later, Mrs Grey was sitting in her favourite tea shop. “Would madam like the usual cream cakes and patisserie with her tea?” the waitress asked.
    • 1857, Charles Reade, White Lies. A Story., volume I, London: Trübner & Co., […], page 276:
      “Nothing, madam, but a tumbler of wine with a little water—thank you, madam. Mesdames, great events have occurred since I left you.”
    • 1951 April, John H. Day, “The Breath of April”, in Pennsylvania Game News, volume XXII, number 1, Pennsylvania Game Commission, page 27, column 1:
      I leaned on the hoe, in classic pose, and watched the cowbird try to bust his buttons in that agonizing split whistle which is his serenade to the madam. Perhaps I should say to the mesdames, for this fellow is the Don Juan of the feathered world, with no moral standards and a distinct aversion to anything that resembles domestic ties.
    • 1987, Navasilu, page 81:
      “[…] This size, madam!” Certainly, the mesdames would not have been interested.
    • 2012, Bridget O’Donnell, Inspector Minahan Makes a Stand: The Missing Girls of England, Picador, →ISBN:
      After two years, Madam X was busy enough to take on a partner: Madam Z, aged twenty. Both regularly scouted new marks and told Stead that ‘nurse girls’ (nannies) were the best: ‘there are any number in [the parks] every morning and all are virgins’. Selling maidenhoods was their speciality. ‘Our gentlemen want maids,’ they said, ‘not damaged articles.’ ‘Come,’ he said to the mesdames, ‘what do you say to delivering me five [girls] on Saturday next? . . . Could you deliver me a parcel of maids, for me to distribute among my friends?’ Within a fortnight, the Mesdames had supplied Stead with seven girls between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.
  2. The mistress of a household.
  3. (colloquial) A conceited or quarrelsome girl.
    Selina kept pushing and shoving during musical chairs. The nursery school teacher said she was a bad-tempered little madam.
  4. (slang) A woman who runs a brothel, particularly one that specializes in finding prostitutes for rich and important clients.
    Synonyms: (archaic) abbess, bawd, lady abbess, nookie-bookie, whoremistress, brothel-keeper
    Coordinate terms: (mostly for males) pimp, brothel-keeper
    After she grew too old to work as a prostitute, she became a madam.
    • 1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 54:
      I sneaked into the house and stole my sister’s Hudson-seal fur coat out of the closet, then I beat it down to a whorehouse and sold it to the madam for $150.
  5. (India, derogatory slang) A hated or contemptuous woman; used as a general term of abuse

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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madam (third-person singular simple present madams, present participle madaming, simple past and past participle madamed)

  1. (transitive) To address as "madam".
    • 1668 June 22 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), John Dryden, An Evening’s Love, or The Mock-Astrologer. […], In the Savoy [London]: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1671, →OCLC, Act III, page 33:
      Madam me no Madam, but learn to retrench your vvords; and ſay Mam; as yes Mam, and no Mam, as other Ladies VVomen do. Madam! 'tis a year in pronouncing.
    • 1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:
      Don’t madam me, — I can’t bear none of your lip service. I’m a plain-spoken woman, that’s what I am, and I like other people’s tongues to be as plain as mine.
    • 1905, William Clark Russell, The Yarn of Old Harbour Town, page 208:
      He bowed to me, he madamed me, he was throughout as gentlemanlike and respectful as I had ever found him when we met at Old Harbour House or in Old Harbour Town.
    • 1988, Gahan Wilson, Eddy Deco's Last Caper, page 123:
      "I don't care," she said. "They'll be dead in a few minutes if you'll just do your job. Stop madaming me and get to work."

Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Meredith, L. P. (1872) “Madam”, in Every-Day Errors of Speech‎[1], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., page 30.
  2. ^ “mesdames”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present: “1 a plural of madam. 2 plural of madame.”

Anagrams

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Czech

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French madame.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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madam f (indeclinable)

  1. madam, lady

Further reading

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  • “madam”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “madam”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • “madam”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)
  • “madam” in Akademický slovník současné češtiny, 2012–2024, slovnikcestiny.cz

Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle French madame.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /maːˈdɑm/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ma‧dam
  • Rhymes: -ɑm

Noun

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madam f (plural madammen or madams, diminutive madammeke n or madammeken n or madammetje n)

  1. madam, lady
  2. madam, female counterpart of a pimp

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Afrikaans: madam
  • → Indonesian: madam

Indonesian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Dutch madam, from Middle French madame.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈma.dam/
  • Rhymes: -dam
  • Hyphenation: ma‧dam

Noun

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madam (plural madam-madam)

  1. (colloquial) madame, lady
    Synonym: nyonya

Further reading

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Middle English

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Noun

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madam

  1. Alternative form of madame

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From French madame.

Noun

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madam m (definite singular madammen, indefinite plural madammer, definite plural madammene)

  1. madam

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French madame.

Noun

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madam f (definite singular madamma, indefinite plural madammer, definite plural madammene)

  1. madam

Slovak

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French madame.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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madam f (indeclinable)

  1. madam

Further reading

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  • “madam”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2024

Swedish

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Noun

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madam c

  1. (dated) Synonym of fru
  2. (dated, derogatory) an old woman (generally)

Declension

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Declension of madam
nominative genitive
singular indefinite madam madams
definite madammen madammens
plural indefinite madammer madammers
definite madammerna madammernas

See also

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References

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Turkish

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Etymology

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From Ottoman Turkish مادام (madam), from French madame.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /mɑˈdɑm/
  • Hyphenation: ma‧dam
  • Rhymes: -dɑm

Noun

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madam (definite accusative madamı, plural madamlar)

  1. madam
    Synonym: madama

Declension

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Inflection
Nominative madam
Definite accusative madamı
Singular Plural
Nominative madam madamlar
Definite accusative madamı madamları
Dative madama madamlara
Locative madamda madamlarda
Ablative madamdan madamlardan
Genitive madamın madamların
Possessive forms
Nominative
Singular Plural
1st singular madamım madamlarım
2nd singular madamın madamların
3rd singular madamı madamları
1st plural madamımız madamlarımız
2nd plural madamınız madamlarınız
3rd plural madamları madamları
Definite accusative
Singular Plural
1st singular madamımı madamlarımı
2nd singular madamını madamlarını
3rd singular madamını madamlarını
1st plural madamımızı madamlarımızı
2nd plural madamınızı madamlarınızı
3rd plural madamlarını madamlarını
Dative
Singular Plural
1st singular madamıma madamlarıma
2nd singular madamına madamlarına
3rd singular madamına madamlarına
1st plural madamımıza madamlarımıza
2nd plural madamınıza madamlarınıza
3rd plural madamlarına madamlarına
Locative
Singular Plural
1st singular madamımda madamlarımda
2nd singular madamında madamlarında
3rd singular madamında madamlarında
1st plural madamımızda madamlarımızda
2nd plural madamınızda madamlarınızda
3rd plural madamlarında madamlarında
Ablative
Singular Plural
1st singular madamımdan madamlarımdan
2nd singular madamından madamlarından
3rd singular madamından madamlarından
1st plural madamımızdan madamlarımızdan
2nd plural madamınızdan madamlarınızdan
3rd plural madamlarından madamlarından
Genitive
Singular Plural
1st singular madamımın madamlarımın
2nd singular madamının madamlarının
3rd singular madamının madamlarının
1st plural madamımızın madamlarımızın
2nd plural madamınızın madamlarınızın
3rd plural madamlarının madamlarının
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