3 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Dame \Dame\ (d[=a]m), n. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina
mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to
domare to tame, subdue. See {Tame}, and cf. {Dam} a mother,
{Dan}, {Danger}, {Dungeon}, {Dominie}, {Don}, n., {Duenna}.]
1. A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a woman in
authority; especially, a lady.
Then shall these lords do vex me half so much, As
that proud dame, the lord protector's wife. --Shak.
2. The mistress of a family in common life, or the mistress
of a common school; as, a dame's school.
In the dame's classes at the village school.
--Emerson.
3. A woman in general, esp. an elderly woman.
4. A mother; -- applied to human beings and quadrupeds.
[Obs.] --Chaucer.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
dame
n 1: informal terms for a (young) woman [syn: {doll}, {wench}, {skirt},
{chick}, {bird}]
2: a woman of refinement; "a chauffeur opened the door of the
limousine for the grand lady" [syn: {madam}, {ma'am}, {lady},
{gentlewoman}]
From eng-fra [engfra]:
dame
[deim]
demoiselle noble