dame
pronunciation
How to pronounce dame in British English:
UK [deɪm]
How to pronounce dame in American English:
US [dem]
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- Noun:
- informal terms for a (young) woman
- a woman of refinement
Word Origin
- dame
- dame: [13] Latin domina was the feminine form of dominus ‘lord’ (see DOMINION). English acquired it via Old French dame, but it has also spread through the other Romance languages, including Spanish dueña (source of English duenna [17]) and Italian donna (whence English prima donna, literally ‘first lady’ [18]). The Vulgar Latin diminutive form of domina was *dominicella, literally ‘little lady’.This passed into Old French as donsele, was modified by association with dame to damisele, and acquired in the 13th century by English, in which it subsequently became damsel (the archaic variant damosel came from the 16th-century French form damoiselle).=> damsel, danger, dominate, dominion, duenna, prima donna
- dame (n.)
- early 13c., from Old French dame "lady, mistress, wife," from Late Latin domna, from Latin domina "lady, mistress of the house," from Latin domus "house" (see domestic). Legal title for the wife of a knight or baronet. Slang sense of "woman" first attested 1902 in American English.
Example
- 1. Dame julie will make a nostalgic comeback on the stage
- 2. This photo was taken outside notre dame cathedral in paris .
- 3. My dame hath a lame tame crane .
- 4. I have been working in a trading company ever since I graduated from the university of notre dame .
- 5. More than you might think , says dame jessica .