madame

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

madam

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• Madame

Etymology

Borrowed from French madame, from Old French ma dame (“my lady”). Doublet of madam and Madonna.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məˈdæm/, /məˈdɑːm/, /ˈmæ.dəm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /məˈdæm/, /məˈdɑm/, /mæˈdæm/, /mæˈdɑm/, /ˈmæ.dəm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm, -ɑm, -ædəm

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

madame (plural madames or mesdames)

1. Alternative form of madam

Derived terms

Related terms

• croque-madame
• grande madame
• Madame Berthe's mouse lemur
• Madame Tussaud's
• trou madame

Anagrams

• ma'amed

Finnish

Etymology

From French madame.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑdɑm/,

Noun

madame

1. madam

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• “madame”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

French

Etymology

From Old French ma dame (“my lady”), equivalent to ma +‎ dame.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.dam/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

madame f (plural mesdames)

1. a title or form of address for a woman, formerly for a married woman and now commonly for any adult woman regardless of marital status, used both in direct and third-person address

   Bonjour, madame, comment puis-je vous aider ?

   Hello, ma'am, how can I help you?

   Si vous êtes libre, pourriez-vous aider madame, s’il vous plaît?

   If you're free, could you help this lady, please?

2. madam, Mrs. or Ms.; a title used with a woman's full name or surname, or (in childish language) her first name
3. (in children's language, childish) lady, woman

   Dis merci à la madame.

   Say thank you to the lady.

4. the female employer of a domestic servant
   • 2020, Laure Stéphan, “« Ma Madame m’a dit qu’ils ne pouvaient plus me payer » : au Liban, le calvaire des domestiques éthiopiennes”, in Le Monde‎:

     Mazaa, 23 ans, ancienne nourrice et femme de ménage, croix autour du cou, cache son visage. « Ma Madame (employeuse) m’a dit qu’ils ne pouvaient plus me payer. […] »

     Mazaa, 23 years old, former nanny and housekeeper, a cross around her neck, hides her face. "My madame (employer) told me they couldn't pay me anymore. "

Usage notes

• Unlike in English, Madame is frequently used without a name or article as a polite reference to a woman in the third person, notably in official registers:

  Madame s’est présentée à l’urgence à 18 h 12.

  The/This lady/The patient/Ms. attended the emergency room at 6:12 p.m.

• Although un/le monsieur is used as a common noun to mean "a/the gentleman," using the word une/la madame to mean "a/the lady" is considered childish language. Instead, une/la dame is used.

Synonyms

• dame, lady
• (title, form of address): (abbreviations) M^me, Mme.

Coordinate terms

• mademoiselle
• monsieur

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Russian: мада́м (madám)
• → Turkish: madam, madama

Further reading

• “madame”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈdam/
• Rhymes: -am

Noun

madame f

1. plural of madama

References

Middle English

Alternative forms

• ma dame, madam, madaum, maydame, madde dame

Etymology

From Old French madame; compare dame.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈdaːm(ə)/, /maˈdam(ə)/, /maː-/

Noun

madame (plural madames)

1. madam (polite term of address or (less often) title for a noble lady)

Descendants

• English: madam; ma'am
• Scots: madam

References

• “ma-dam(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• madama

Etymology

Borrowed from French madame.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɐmɨ, (Brazil) -ɐ̃mi
• Hyphenation: ma‧da‧me

Noun

madame f (plural madames)

1. madam (polite term of address to a woman)
2. madam (mistress of a household)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French madame.

Noun

madame f (plural madames)

1. madam (polite term of address to a woman)
2. madam (mistress of a household)

Swedish

Noun

madame c

1. Synonym of fru (and French)

Declension

See also

• madam

References

• madame in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• madame in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)