/gran" dam", daym"/ ; Fr. /grddahonnd dannm"/ , pl. grandes dames /gran" damz", daymz"/ ; Fr. /grddahonnd dannm"/ .
1. a usually elderly woman of dignified or aristocratic bearing.
2. a woman who is the doyenne of a specific field: a grande dame of the American theater.
[ 1735-45; ]