madame

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Related to Madames: ma'am

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]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.madame - title used for a married Frenchwomanmadame - 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"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

madame

[ˈmædəm] N (mesdames (pl)) [ˈmeɪdæm]
1.madama f, señora f
Madame Dupontla 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 ?
"Monsieur," said Madame de Chevreuse, "I believe you are a sorcerer; I am prepared for anything.
Madame de Chevreuse evidently went from surprise to astonishment, and from astonishment to stupefaction.
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.
Madame de Cintre bows her head and folds her wings."
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.
Madame Aubain wished to make an accomplished girl of her daughter; and as Guyot could not teach English or music, she decided to send her to the Ursulines at Honfleur.
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.
Behind Madame de Saint-Remy stood Mademoiselle de la Valliere.
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.
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 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.
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.