madame

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Ma·dame

(mə-dăm′, măd′əm)

n. pl. Mes·dames (mā-dăm′, -däm′) Abbr. Mme

1. Used as a courtesy title before the surname or full name of a woman, especially a married woman, in a French-speaking area: Madame Cartier; Madame Jacqueline Cartier. See Usage Note at miss².

2. madame Used as a form of polite address for a woman in a French-speaking area.

[French, from Old French ma dame : ma, my (from Latin mea, feminine of meus; see me- in Indo-European roots) + dame, lady (from Latin domina, feminine of dominus, lord, master of a household; see dem- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

madame

(ˈmædəm; French madam)

n, pl mesdames (ˈmeɪˌdæm; French medam)

a married Frenchwoman: usually used as a title equivalent to Mrs, and sometimes extended to older unmarried women to show respect and to women of other nationalities

[C17: from French. See madam]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mad•ame

(məˈdæm, -ˈdɑm, mæ-, ˈmæd əm)

n., pl. mes•dames (meɪˈdæm, -ˈdɑm)
(often cap.)

1. a French title equivalent to Mrs.: Madame Curie.

2. a title for a woman, esp. one who comes from a non-English-speaking country. Abbr.: Mme.

[1590–1600; < French; see madam]

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Noun

madame - title used for a married Frenchwoman

gentlewoman, ma'am, madam, lady, dame - a woman of refinement; "a chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady"

Translations

madame

[ˈmædəm] N (mesdames (pl)) [ˈmeɪdæm]

1. → madama f, señora f
Madame Dupont → la señora de Dupont

2. [of brothel] → madama f, dueña f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

References in classic literature ?

Behind Madame de Saint-Remy stood Mademoiselle de la Valliere.

"And you, mademoiselle; you may be certain I shall inform madame of what is going on in the apartment of one of her ladies of honor!"

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It was with a heavy heart, and many sad forebodings which no effort could banish, that Kate Nickleby, on the morning appointed for the commencement of her engagement with Madame Mantalini, left the city when its clocks yet wanted a quarter of an hour of eight, and threaded her way alone, amid the noise and bustle of the streets, towards the west end of London.

She arrived at Madame Mantalini's some minutes before the appointed hour, and after walking a few times up and down, in the hope that some other female might arrive and spare her the embarrassment of stating her business to the servant, knocked timidly at the door: which, after some delay, was opened by the footman, who had been putting on his striped jacket as he came upstairs, and was now intent on fastening his apron.

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Madame Pelet had her own society, her own circle of chosen visitors, whom, however, I seldom saw, as she generally entertained them in what she called her "cabinet," a small den of a place adjoining the kitchen, and descending into it by one or two steps.

Madame Pelet's habits of life, then, being taken into consideration, I was a good deal surprised when, one Thursday evening (Thursday was always a half-holiday), as I was sitting all alone in my apartment, correcting a huge pile of English and Latin exercises, a servant tapped at the door, and, on its being opened, presented Madame Pelet's compliments, and she would be happy to see me to take my "gouter" (a meal which answers to our English "tea") with her in the dining-room.

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Madame Defarge and monsieur her husband returned amicably to the bosom of Saint Antoine, while a speck in a blue cap toiled through the darkness, and through the dust, and down the weary miles of avenue by the wayside, slowly tending towards that point of the compass where the chateau of Monsieur the Marquis, now in his grave, listened to the whispering trees.

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The baron, followed by the count, traversed a long series of apartments, in which the prevailing characteristics were heavy magnificence and the gaudiness of ostentatious wealth, until he reached the boudoir of Madame Danglars -- a small octagonal-shaped room, hung with pink satin, covered with white Indian muslin.

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Madame de Chevreuse, whose name appears so often in our story "The Three Musketeers," without her actually having appeared in any scene, was still a beautiful woman.

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Tristram told him that her beautiful friend, Madame de Cintre, had returned from the country; that she had met her three days before, coming out of the Church of St.

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After she had made a curtsey at the threshold, she would walk up the aisle between the double lines of chairs, open Madame Aubain's pew, sit down and look around.

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Madame Granson looked at her son in a mirror, and thought him pale; but he had been so all day, for a vague rumor of the matter had already reached him.