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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmæd.əm/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

madam (plural madams)

1. (dated in the UK) A polite form of address for a woman or lady.

   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.

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.

   After she grew too old to work as a prostitute, she became a madam.

Synonyms

• (polite form of address): dame, woman, lady, matron, mistress
• (woman who runs a brothel): abbess (archaic), bawd, lady abbess, nookie-bookie, whoremistress, (female) brothel-keeper

Coordinate terms

• (polite form of address): sir, gentleman
• (woman who runs a brothel): pimp (mostly for males), brothel-keeper

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 (ʾustāḏa), 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 (śrimti)
• 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
• 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), मैडम (hi) f (maiḍam), बानू f (bānū)
• Hungarian: asszonyom (hu), hölgyem
• Icelandic: frú (is) f
• Indonesian: nyonya (id), puan (id)
• Italian: signora (it) f
• Japanese: 奥様 (おくさま, okusama), 奥さん (おくさん, okusan)
• Kabuverdianu: nha
• Kazakh: ханым (kk) (xanım), мадам (kk) (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) (khatagtai)

  Uyghurjin: ᠬᠠᠲᠤᠭᠲᠠᠢ (qatuɣtai)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frue (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: frue f

• 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), คุณม่าย
• Turkish: hanımefendi (tr), madam (tr), bayan (tr), hanım (tr)
• 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)
• Venetian: siora (vec) f
• Vietnamese: bà (vi) (older), chị (vi), cô (vi)
• Yiddish: פֿראַו‎ f (frau)
• Zulu: inkosikazi (zu) 9 or 10, unkosikazi 1a or 2a, uma (zu) 1a or 2a

mistress of a household

• Italian: padrona di casa f

• Portuguese: madame (pt) f, madama (pt) f

conceited girl

• Polish: królewna (pl) f

• Venetian: ciacola f, ciacolona f

woman who manages a brothel

• 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 f
• Greek: τσατσά (el) f (tsatsá), ματρώνα 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
• Portuguese: cafetina (pt) f
• Spanish: cabrona (es) (America), mami (es) (Peru)
• Thai: แม่เล้า (th) (mɛ̂ɛ-láo), มาม่า (th) (maa-mâa), มาม่าซัง (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".
   • 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."

See also

• pimp
• pimping

Anagrams

• Damma, damma, ḍamma

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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

Descendants

• Afrikaans: madam

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Middle English

Noun

madam

1. Alternative form of madame

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French madame.

Noun

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

1. madam

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French madame.

Noun

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

1. madam

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Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from French madame.

Noun

madam (definite accusative madamı, plural madamlar)

1. madam

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