ˈbeldəm, -ˌdam, -ˌdaa(ə)m noun
or bel·dame -_dəm, -ˌdām
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English beldam, from Middle French bel fair, beautiful + Middle English dam, dame lady, mother — more at beauty , dame
1. obsolete : grandmother
2. : a woman of advanced age
old Lady Shropshire and some other old beldam — Edith Sitwell
3.
a. : an old and loathsome woman : hag
b. : a raging woman : virago
performed in an opera house with a posse of fat beldams throwing themselves about the stage — H.L.Mencken