Dame

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See also: dame, damé, dáme, Damɛ, and da'me

English

Noun

Dame (plural Dames)

  1. (British) The titular prefix given to a female knight

Usage notes

  • The title "Dame" is used with the knight's given or full name, but not her family name. If Jane Smith is knighted, she is known as Dame Jane Smith or Dame Jane, never Dame Smith, and she is correctly called Dame Jane wherever she would formerly have been called Ms./Mrs./Miss Smith.
  • "Dame" is only used for a woman who holds a knighthood or baronetcy in her own right. The wife of a male knight is styled Lady with her surname.

Coordinate terms

Translations

Anagrams

German

Etymology

From French dame, from Latin domina (“mistress, lady”). Cognate with English dame.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdaːmə/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: Da‧me

Noun

Dame f (genitive Dame, plural Damen)

  1. lady (woman of good breeding and manners)
  2. lady; madam (polite term to refer to any woman)
  3. (chess, card games) queen
  4. (checkers) king
  5. (title) Dame

Usage notes

Concerning the use of the word as a polite term for any woman, note the following tendencies:

  • It is common to refer to a woman as Dame when one speaks of her in her presence. Frau might even be slightly impolite in such a context.
Ich glaube, die Dame war vor mir dran. — “I think this lady was in line before me.”
  • Dame used as a general term of address (“die Dame!” – madam!) marks a consciously polite way of speaking, most often heard from waiters, shop assistants, etc. Note that in this case the verb may be in the third-person plural: Wünschen die Dame noch Tee? (though wünscht is equally possible). Dame is also consciously polite when speaking about someone who is not present. In popular speech, it may be used to refer to an elderly woman but rarely to a young or middle-aged one.
  • Dame is common in some specific contexts, such as ballroom dancing.

Declension

Declension of Dame
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Dame die Damen
genitive einer der Dame der Damen
dative einer der Dame den Damen
accusative eine die Dame die Damen

Derived terms

See also

Chess pieces in German · Schachfiguren, Schachsteine (layout · text)
♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟
König Dame, Königin Turm Läufer Springer, Pferd, Ross, Rössel Bauer

Noun

Dame f (genitive Dame, no plural)
Dame n (strong, genitive Dames, no plural)

  1. (board games) draughts; checkers
    Synonyms: Damespiel n, Damenspiel n

Usage notes

  • The word rarely ever appears with articles, determiners, or adjectives. When it does, some speakers may construe it as feminine, others as neuter. In formal style, Damespiel is preferable in such contexts.

Derived terms

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia