Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗verb
To address (a woman) as "ma'am".
noun
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryA form of address for a woman: contraction of madam. · A polite and formal way to address a woman. · A respectful term of address to a woman of higher rank or position. · A title for a married woman.
The noun is a contraction of madam, and represents a regional pronunciation of that word in the United Kingdom. The verb is derived from the noun.
This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "noun"
},
"expansion": "noun"
},
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "contraction"
},
"expansion": "contraction"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "1"
},
"expansion": "¹"
},
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "verb"
},
"expansion": "verb"
}
],
"links": [
[
"madam",
"madam#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To address (a woman) as \"ma'am\"."
],
"tags": [
"informal",
"transitive"
],
"recordId": "07d087b5235c958149a81908b9f24a844079c046e6f06370b01ff6f56731931b",
"rawRecordSha256": "1c25a18a3c047bc98e4efa99308164431b458296a8b35f1e444dd0967b7fbc8c",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 193392
},
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"A form of address for a woman: contraction of madam.",
"A polite and formal way to address a woman.",
"A respectful term of address to a woman of higher rank or position.",
"A title for a married woman."
],
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"recordId": "5bf9695ef3a7db43115a8fc9a3e3922b2f0ca7a5a92240258654a131121d3345",
"rawRecordSha256": "97df62449b5a41b92e7ef03aaa1ca7699eaad48a1784ba262d1667db469b840d",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 193391
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 1,
"glosses": 0
}
}