n.
-
(Dame)
(in the UK) the title given to a woman with the rank of Knight Commander or holder of the Grand Cross in the Orders of Chivalry.
- archaic or humorous an elderly or mature woman.
▸N. Amer. informal a woman.
▸
(also pantomime dame)
Brit. a comic middle-aged female character in pantomime, typically played by a man.
Etymology
ME: via OFr. from L. domina ‘mistress’.