Dāme, n.

[Fr. dame, It. dama, donna, Sp. dama, doña, dueña, Pg. dama, dona, Pr. dama, domna, dona, L. Lat. domna, donna, from Lat. domina, mistress, lady, f. of dominus, master of the house, from domus, house, Gr. δόμος.]

1Sense 1. A mistress; a woman in authority; especially, a lady in rank or culture.

Then shall the priest be as the people, the master as the servant, the dame like the maid. Bible, 1551.

Not all these lords do vex me half so much As that proud dame, the lord protector’s wife. Shak.

Sovran of creatures, universal dame. Milton.

2Sense 2. The mistress of a family in common life, or the mistress of a common school; as, a dame’s school, or dame school.