madam:
1. A woman ; a lady . A polite term of address. Abbreviation: Mdm. Plural: mesdames.ETYMOLOGY: Middle English borrowing from the French , ma dame , my lady , my beloved . In the Renaissance its meaning shifted referring to a kept mistress , a prostitute and later the manageress of a brothel .
2. Respectful and courteous form of address for a woman , especially if elderly or married , formerly used as a courtesy title before a woman's given name but now used mostly before a surname or title indicating rank or office. Madam Chairman. Madam President. Madam Ambassador .
3. The female head or mistress of a household.
4. Or: madame , a woman who manages a brothel , derived from its original meaning of mistress of the house or woman in charge of the household.
Synonyms: abbess ; ass-middlewoman ; aunt ; bawd ; brothel-keeper ; case-keeper ; Covent-Garden-abbess ; crack-detail-woman ; dress-lodger ; female pimp ; governess ; house-mother ; housekeeper ; housemother ; Lady-Abbess ; landlady ; mama-san ; mother-damnable ; mother ; mother-abbess ; mother-hollyhock ; moher midnight; mother-of-the-maids ; mother-superior ; presbyteress ; procuress ; proxenetist ; she-pimp ; sister-in-law ; skirt-woman ; tenderloin-madam ; victualler ; whoremistress .
QUOTES:
(1) Mrs. Sally Adams (Ethel Merman), a Washington hostess later named ambassador to Lichtenburg, in Call Me Madam (1953): ' When you call me madam, smile .'
(2) Sung by Queenie (Raquel Welch) in The Wild Party (1975): ' Sally turned from Miss to Madam .'
5. An elderly male homosexual .
6. Proper madam , in England, a girl with a bad temper.
See Also: abbess, abbesse, ass middlewoman, aunt, bawd, block of ice, brothel-keeper, buttock-broker, case keeper, cold heart, Covent Garden abbess, crack detail woman, dress lodger, five-finger Mary, five-fingered Annie, flesh broker, four sisters on thumb street, freezer, governess, house, house-mother, housekeeper, housemother, Lady Abbess, Lady Five Fingers, landlady, madam, makeup, mama-san, mother abbess, mother damnable, Mother Fist and her five daughters, mother hollyhock, mother midnight, mother of the maids, mother superior, Mrs. Hand and the five fingers, Mrs. Palm and her five daughters, Mrs. Princum Prancum, old lady five fingers, presbyteress, princum prancum, procuress, proxenetist, roll, she-pimp, sister-in-law, skirt woman, tenderloin madam, veuve poignet, victualler, whoremistress
Quotes Containing madam:
Trixie (Lillian Roth) in Madam Satan (1930): 'Something for nothing , that's the marriage game .'
Angela Brooks/Madam Satan (Kay Johnson) in Madam Satan (1930): ''True love is believing that the one you love is quite above defeat.''
Jimmy Wade (Roland Young) to Trixie (Lillian Roth) in Madam Satan (1930): 'I wouldn't marry you to keep warm on an iceberg!'
Marie Antoinette (Norma Shearer) to the millner, Madame Du Barry (Gladys George), King Louis'' mistress , in Marie Antoinette (1938): ''Madam, royalty loves an occasional roll in the gutter .''
Vera (Della Reese), a madam in Harlem Nights (1989): ''I have a girl whose pussy is so good, if you threw it up in the air, it would turn into sunshine.''
Vera (Della Reese), a madam in Harlem Nights (1989): ''I have a girl whose pussy is so good, if you threw it up in the air, it would turn into sunshine.''
Bob Brooks (Reginald Denny) to his wife Angela (Kay Johnson) in Madam Satan (1930): ''I think you''re above all women, but below zero .''
Larry Wilson (William Powell) and his wife Kay (Myrna Loy) in I Love You Again (1940): - Larry: 'You be careful, madam , or you'll turn my head with your flattery.' - Kay:'I often wished I could turn your head ... on a spit over a slow fire.'
Thief and con man William Shaw (Matthew Modine) dancing with a richly bejewelled lady in Cutthroat Island (1995) - Shaw: 'I'm a medical man , a doctor.' - Lady: 'Oh, my! (...) With higher anatomy you must know a great deal about the human body.' - Shaw: 'Indeed, madam . Every bit of it . All the ins and outs. In medecine it is our obligation to probe to the very bottom of things. '
Link to this page: