Madam

(măd'əm)
n. (Abbr. Mdm.)

1. 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.
2. Used as a salutation in a letter: Dear Madam or Sir.
3. madam Used as a form of polite address for a woman: Right this way, madam.
4. madam The mistress of a household.
5. madam A woman who manages a brothel. See Usage Note at mistress.

[Middle English madame, from Old French ma dame. See Madame.]

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The English form madam is a now somewhat formal or affectedly courteous form of address to a woman (Dear Madam / Madam Chairman / Can I help you, madam?). When addressing royalty, the shorter form ma'am is used. Madame, pronounced mǝ-dahm, is the right form of address to a woman from any foreign nation (not necessarily French), and is also a term (should one be needed) for a woman brothel-keeper.

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IN BRIEF: n. - A woman of refinement; A woman who runs a house of prostitution.

Madam, I have been looking for a person that dislikes gravy all my life; let us swear eternal friendship. — Sydney Smith

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noun
noun

Untrue, misleading, or flattering talk; nonsense. (1927 —) .
J. Wainwright It was not the sort of place conducive to putting over a spot of old madam. The normal glib flannel tended to stick in his throat and the guff and eye-wash hadn't enough elbow-room to...sound...feasible (1973).

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For a list of words related to madam, see:

• Titles and Honorifics
• Pornography and Prostitution - madam: woman managing whorehouse

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See words rhyming with "madam."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Madam.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - frue, frøken (adresseringsform til både gifte og ugifte)

Français (French)
n. - Madame, Mademoiselle, tenancière de maison close, maquerelle

Deutsch (German)
n. - gnädige Frau, Bordellwirtin

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μαντάμ, κυρία, (Βρετ.) ψηλομύτα (νεαρή), αυταρχική γυναίκα, (καθομ.) μαντάμα, τσατσά

Italiano (Italian)
Signora, tenutaria di casa chiusa

Português (Portuguese)
n. - senhora (f)

Русский (Russian)
госпожа, мадам

Español (Spanish)
n. - señora, patrona, dueña de prostíbulo, madama

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - frun, fröken, översittare, bordellmamma

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
女士, 夫人

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 女士, 夫人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 부인 , 마님, 주부

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 奥様, お嬢様, …殿, 主婦, 女主人, 生意気な娘

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮גברת, מאדאם, מנהלת בית-בושת‬

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