madam

See also: Madam, and madám

English

Alternative forms

• madame

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmæd.əm/
• (Philippines, colloquial or nonstandard) IPA^(key): /məˈdam/, /məˈdæm/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪd.əm/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

madam (plural madams or mesdames)

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

• dear Sir or Madam
• Madam and Eve
• troll madam

 

Related terms

• madame
• ma'am

Translations

polite term of address to a woman

• Albanian: zonjë (sq) f
• Arabic: سَيِّدَة f (sayyida), سَيِّدَتِي f (sayyidatī) (my lady), أُسْتَاذَة f (ʔustāḏa), مَدَام f (madām)
• Armenian: տիկին (hy) (tikin)
• Azerbaijani: xanım, madam
• Basque: andere (eu)
• Belarusian: спада́рыня f (spadárynja), па́ні f (páni), мада́м f (madám)
• Bengali: ঠাকরূণ (ṭhakrun), শ্রীমতী (bn) (srimoti)
• Bulgarian: госпожа́ (bg) f (gospožá), мада́м f (madám)
• Burmese: ဒေါ် (my) (dau), ခင်ဗျာ (my) (hkangbya) (used by males to address both males and females), ရှင် (my) (hrang) (used by females to address both males and females)
• Cherokee: ᎠᎨᏴ (ageyv)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 太太 (taai³ taai^3-2), 女士 (neoi⁵ si⁶), 夫人 (fu¹ jan⁴, fu¹ jan^4-2)

  Dungan: тэтэ (tete)

  Mandarin: 太太 (zh) (tàitai), 女士 (zh) (nǚshì), 夫人 (zh) (fūrén)

• Czech: paní (cs) f
• Danish: frue (da) c
• Dutch: mevrouw (nl) f
• Esperanto: sinjorino (eo)
• Estonian: proua (et)
• Finnish: rouva (fi)
• French: madame (fr) f
• Georgian: ქალბატონი (kalbaṭoni)
• German: Frau (de) f, Fräulein (de) n (traditionally, for unmarried women)
• Greek: κυρία (el) f (kyría)
• Hebrew: גברת \ גְבֶרֶת (he) f (gvéret)
• Hindi: महोदया (hi) f (mahodyā), साहिबा f (sāhibā), श्रीमती (hi) f (śrīmtī), बानू f (bānū)
• Hungarian: asszonyom (hu), hölgyem
• Icelandic: frú (is) f
• Indonesian: nyonya (id), puan (id)
• Italian: signora (it) f
• Japanese: 奥様 (ja) (おくさま, okusama), 奥さん (ja) (おくさん, okusan)
• Kabuverdianu: nha
• Kazakh: ханым (xanym), мадам (madam)
• Khmer: លោកស្រី (look srəy), អ្នកស្រី (nĕək srəy)
• Korean: 아씨 (ko) (assi), 아가씨 (ko) (agassi) (to young woman), 아줌마 (ko) (ajumma)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: xanim (ku), madam (ku)

• Kyrgyz: айым (ky) (ayım), мадам (madam)
• Lao: ມາດາມ (mā dām)
• Latvian: kundze f
• Lithuanian: ponia f
• Macedonian: госпоѓа f (gospoǵa)
• Malay: puan
• Maori: whae
• Middle English: madame, dame, lady
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хатагтай (mn) (xatagtaj)

  Mongolian: ᠬᠠᠲᠤᠭᠲᠠᠢ (qatuɣtai)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frue (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: frue f

• Ottoman Turkish: قادین (kadın), سیده (seyyide)
• Pashto: بېګم f (begóm), مېرمن f (mermᶕn)
• Persian: خانم (fa) (xânom), مادام (fa) (mâdâm), بانو (fa) (bânu)
• Polish: pani (pl) f
• Portuguese: madame (pt) f, madama (pt) f, senhora (pt) f
• Romanian: doamnă (ro) f, madam (ro) f
• Russian: госпожа́ (ru) f (gospožá), мада́м (ru) f (madám), суда́рыня (ru) f (sudárynja) (obsolete), ба́рыня (ru) f (bárynja) (dated), да́ма (ru) f (dáma)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: го̏спођа f

  Roman: gȍspođa (sh) f

• Slovak: pani f
• Slovene: gospa (sl) f
• Spanish: señora (es) f
• Swedish: frun (sv) c, damen (sv) c
• Tajik: хонум (xonum), бону (bonu)
• Thai: แหม่ม (th) (mɛ̀m), คุณนาย (th) (kun-naai), คุณหญิง (kun-yǐng)
• Turkish: hanımefendi (tr), efendim (tr), madam (tr) (for a for married non-Muslim woman)
• Turkmen: hanym
• Ukrainian: па́ні (uk) f (páni), мада́м f (madám)
• Urdu: صاحبہ f (sāhibā), میڈم f (maiḍam), بانو f (bānū), مہیلا f (mahilā)
• Uyghur: خېنىم (xënim), خانىم (xanim)
• Uzbek: xonim (uz), bekam, madam (uz)
• Venetan: siora (vec) f
• Vietnamese: bà (vi) (older), chị (vi), cô (vi)
• Yiddish: פֿראַו f (frau)
• Zulu: inkosikazi (zu) class 9/10, unkosikazi class 1a/2a, uma (zu) class 1a/2a

mistress of a household

• Italian: padrona di casa f
• Ottoman Turkish: قادین (kadın), سیده (seyyide)
• Portuguese: madame (pt) f, madama (pt) f

conceited girl

• Polish: królewna (pl) f
• Venetan: ciacola f, ciacolona f

woman who manages a brothel

• Azerbaijani: mama roza, qəhbəbaşı
• Czech: bordelmamá (cs) f
• Esperanto: bordelistino
• French: mère maquerelle (fr) f, maquerelle (fr) f, tenancière (fr), tenancière d’une maison close, souteneuse (fr) f (rare)
• German: Puffmutter (de) f, Bordellwirtin (de) f
• Greek: τσατσά (el) f (tsatsá), ματρώνα (el) f (matróna), μαντάμ (el) (mantám)
• Italian: madama (it) f
• Latin: lēna f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bordellmamma m, horemamma m

  Nynorsk: bordellmamma m, horemamma m

• Polish: burdelmama (pl) f, bajzelmama f
• Portuguese: cafetina (pt) f
• Spanish: cabrona (es) (America), mami (es) (Peru)
• Swedish: bordellmamma c
• Thai: แม่เล้า (th) (mɛ̂ɛ-láo), มาม่า (th) (maa-mâa), มาม่าซัง (th) (maa-mâa-sang)
• Turkish: mama (tr)
• Yiddish: מומע (mume)

Verb

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

to address as madam

• Finnish: rouvitella

See also

• pimp
• pimping

Anagrams

• Damma, damma, ḍamma

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French madame.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːˈdɑm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ma‧dam
• Rhymes: -ɑm

Noun

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

• kakmadam

 

Related terms

• tripmadam

 

Descendants

• Afrikaans: madam
• → Indonesian: madam

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch madam, from Middle French madame.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

madam (plural madam-madam, first-person possessive madamku, second-person possessive madammu, third-person possessive madamnya)

1. (colloquial) madame, lady

   Synonym: nyonya

Further reading

• “madam” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Middle English

Noun

madam

1. Alternative form of madame

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French madame.

Noun

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

1. madam

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French madame.

Noun

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

1. madam

Swedish

Noun

madam c

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

Declension

Declension of madam

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

See also

• madame

References

• madam in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• madam in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• madam in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Turkish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

madam (definite accusative madamı, plural madamlar)

1. madam

   Synonym: madama

Declension

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