What does dame mean?
Dame is an English noun with two principal uses. In Britain and some Commonwealth realms, it is an official honorific — the female equivalent of 'Sir' — conferred on women appointed to the senior ranks of orders of chivalry such as the Order of the British Empire, or on the wives of knights. Crucially, the style takes the holder's first name: Dame Maggie Smith, not Dame Smith. The word descends from Old French 'dame', meaning 'lady' or 'mistress', itself from Latin 'domina', the feminine of 'dominus' ('lord'), which also gives us 'madam' and 'mademoiselle'. Separately, in informal American English — especially in mid-twentieth-century crime fiction and films — a dame was simply a woman, often carrying connotations of glamour, toughness, or both. That usage has faded and can now sound dated or patronising. Writers today most often encounter 'dame' in honours lists, pantomime (where a comic male actor plays the 'Dame'), or period drama.
An honorific title for a woman awarded the rank of Knight Commander or Knight Grand Cross of certain British orders of chivalry, or the wife of a knight, used before her given name.
"Dame Joan Sutherland was celebrated as one of the great sopranos of her age."
Always paired with the first name; using surname alone ('Dame Smith') is incorrect.
(Informal, chiefly North American, dated) A woman.
"The private eye lit a cigarette and watched the dame walk out of the office."
Now largely confined to historical fiction and pastiche of 1940s noir; can read as sexist.
(Historical) A lady of rank; formerly, a title of respect for a nun, a schoolmistress, or the mistress of a household.
"The dame of the manor presided over the harvest feast."
Regular plural; used when speaking of several holders of the title or several women in the informal sense.
"Two dames of the order attended the ceremony alongside their knighted colleagues."
In Britain, being made a Dame is the female equivalent of being knighted — but unlike a knighthood, the title must be used with her first name: 'Dame Judi', never 'Dame Dench'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dame
Dame comes from the Old French 'dame', meaning lady or mistress, which derives from the Latin 'domina', feminine form of 'dominus' meaning lord or master. It entered English in the medieval period, where it served as a respectful title for women of rank, the wife of a knight, and even schoolmistresses and nuns. The same Latin root produced 'madam' via a parallel route, making them doublets, and cognates include French 'madame' and 'demoiselle' through related forms. The modern British honours use dates from the early twentieth century, when women began receiving equivalents of knighthoods.
How dame is actually used
The honorific sense is formal and always precedes the recipient's forename and surname together (or forename alone), never just the surname. The informal North American sense is now largely dated and can sound sexist or ironic in modern usage.
Easily confused with dame
A 'dam' is a barrier built across a river to hold back water, whereas a 'dame' is a title of honour or an informal word for a woman.
'Damn' is a verb or expletive expressing condemnation or frustration, while 'dame' is a noun referring to a titled woman or, informally, a woman.