ˈdām noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin domina mistress, lady, feminine of dominus master, lord; akin to Latin domus house — more at timber
1. : a woman of rank, station, or authority:
a. : the female ruler or head of a body or institution (as a nunnery) ; also : a member of certain religious orders of women — used also as a title
b. archaic : the mistress of a household : housewife , wife — used also as a title
c. : the wife or daughter of a lord — used formerly also as a form of address but now only as a title prefixed to personified abstractions
Dame Care
Dame Fortune
d. archaic : the wife or widow of a knight or baronet — used prefixed to prename and surname as a legal title
the will of Dame Margaret Murray, widow of Sir John Murray, Bart. — C.R.Hudleston
not as a title of courtesy or a form of address — compare lady
e. : the mistress of a school — used chiefly in the phrase dame school
f. : a matron in charge of a boarding house at Eton College — used also of men
g. : a female member of certain orders of knighthood or of chivalry — used also as a title
Dame Myra Hess
— compare knight
2.
a. : an elderly woman : matron
the ancient dame whose friendship I had so curiously made — William Baucke
more and more old gaffers and dames hanging loose on society — J.W.Krutch
b. Scotland : a young unmarried woman : girl
c. slang : woman , female
whiskey, dice, and dames speed the undertaker — Shields McIlwaine
3. : a female parent : dam — now used only of animals
4.
[Middle French]
chess , obsolete : queen
5. usually capitalized : a female character in English pantomime played by a male comedian