Meaning of madam | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A polite form of address for a woman or lady.
2. Alternative letter-case form of madam.
   alt-of
3. The mistress of a household.
4. a polite form of address to a woman. mevrou سَيِّدَه госпожа senhora madam, paní gnädige Frau frue κυρίαseñora proua بانو rouva madameגברת महोदया gospođa asszonyom! nyonya frú signora 奥様 숙녀분, 부인 madam, miela ponia kundze puan mevrouwfru (Szanowna) Pani, Proszę Pani ميرمن senhora doamnă мадам, сударыня madam, pani gospa gospođa frun, fröken, damen คุณผู้หญิง bayan, hanım 太太, 夫人 пані, добродійка خواتین کو عزت سے مخاطب کرنے کا کلمہ quý bà 太太，女士，夫人
5. A polite form of address and title, abbreviated Mdm, used before a (usually middle-aged) adult or elderly woman's surname, full name or given name if she does not have a family name.
   Singapore
6. pl. Mes·dames (mā-dăm′, -däm′) Used formerly as a courtesy title before a woman's given name but now used only before a surname or title indicating rank or office: Madam Ambassador.
7. A conceited or quarrelsome girl.
   colloquial
8. Used as a salutation in a letter: Dear Madam or Sir.
9. A woman who runs a brothel, particularly one that specializes in finding prostitutes for rich and important clients.
   slang
10. madam Used as a form of polite address for a woman: Right this way, madam.
11. A hated or contemptuous woman; used as a general term of abuse
    India, derogatory, slang
12. madam The mistress of a household.
13. madam A woman who manages a brothel.
14. a polite term of address for a woman, esp one considered to be of relatively high social status
15. a woman who runs a brothel
16. informal Brit a precocious or pompous little girl
    informal
17. the madam informal South African the lady of the house
    informal

Equivalents

Examples

“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.”

““Nothing, madam, but a tumbler of wine with a little water—thank you, madam. Mesdames, great events have occurred since I left you.””

“I leaned on the hoe, in classic pose, and watched the cowbird try to bust his buttons in that agonizing split whistle which is his serenade to the madam. Perhaps I should say to the mesdames, for this fellow is the Don Juan of the feathered world, with no moral standards and a distinct aversion to anything that resembles domestic ties.”

““[…] This size, madam!” Certainly, the mesdames would not have been interested.”

“After two years, Madam X was busy enough to take on a partner: Madam Z, aged twenty. Both regularly scouted new marks and told Stead that ‘nurse girls’ (nannies) were the best: ‘there are any number in [the parks] every morning and all are virgins’. Selling maidenhoods was their speciality. ‘Our gentlemen want maids,’ they said, ‘not damaged articles.’ ‘Come,’ he said to the mesdames, ‘what do you say to delivering me five [girls] on Saturday next? . . . Could you deliver me a parcel of maids, for me to distribute among my friends?’ Within a fortnight, the Mesdames had supplied Stead with seven girls between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.”

“Selina kept pushing and shoving during musical chairs. The nursery school teacher said she was a bad-tempered little madam.”

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

“I sneaked into the house and stole my sister’s Hudson-seal fur coat out of the closet, then I beat it down to a whorehouse and sold it to the madam for $150.”

“The conſtant queſtion, upon her offering to ſtir abroad, was, where are you going Madam? To ſee the King my papa, replied the Princeſs. That cannot be Madam. No? why ſo? It is not the Etiquette. — And thus, if ſhe had a mind to viſit any of the Mesdames, the king’s ſiſters or aunts, ſhe was always told, it was not the Etiquette.”

“And nowadays the Madam will blame the Worker’s Unions […] Very unnatural but the Mesdames take the girls for granted”

“After two years, Madam X was busy enough to take on a partner: Madam Z, aged twenty. Both regularly scouted new marks and told Stead that ‘nurse girls’ (nannies) were the best: ‘there are any number in [the parks] every morning and all are virgins’. Selling maidenhoods was their speciality. ‘Our gentlemen want maids,’ they said, ‘not damaged articles.’ ‘Come,’ he said to the mesdames, ‘what do you say to delivering me five [girls] on Saturday next? . . . Could you deliver me a parcel of maids, for me to distribute among my friends?’ Within a fortnight, the Mesdames had supplied Stead with seven girls between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.”

“For the Mesdames Stuart and Scaglia, finding first and maiden names has taken some archival digging, mainly because of the conventional use of ‘Madam’.”

CEFR level