Meanings
mesdames1
Mesdames2
- plural of Madam (“polite form of address for a woman or lady”)
1 more example
The conſtant queſtion, upon her offering to ſtir abroad, was, where are you going Madam? To ſee the King my papa, replied the Princeſs. That cannot be Madam. No? why ſo? It is not the Etiquette. — And thus, if ſhe had a mind to viſit any of the Mesdames, the king’s ſiſters or aunts, ſhe was always told, it was not the Etiquette.
1792, I. G. Rievethal, Lectures Intended for the Instruction and Amusement of Young People, Who Apply Themselves to the English Tongue, Riga: I. Fr. Hartknoch, pages 49–50Synonyms: Madams
- pluralplural of Madame (“title equivalent to Mrs. or Ms., used for French-speaking women and (by custom) certain other individuals”)
In 1679, the rivalry between Mesdames de Maintenon and de Montespan flared up again over the children. And in 1680, after the dim-witted Madame de Fontanges’ pregnancy was tragically terminated, it was the marquise de Maintenon whom the king turned to for solace and companionship.
2012, Leslie Carroll, Royal Romances: Titillating Tales of Passion and Power in the Palaces of Europe, New York, N.Y.: New American Library, →ISBN, pages 82–83Synonyms: Madames
- pluralplural of Mrs /Mrs. (“title used before an adult woman’s name or surname”)
1 more example
But almost funniest of all was the performance on Wednesday of Peter Anastos's Yes, Virginia, Another Piano Ballet, a wicked look at Mr. Robbins's Dances at a Gathering. This is acute parody, well-danced by Baum, Lermontov and Mesdames Boumdiyeva, Zamarkova, Yurika Sakitumi (Anthony Rabara) and Agrippina Proboskovna (Roy Fialkow). Mr. Fialkow hasn't reached that level of parody, but his new Lamentations of Jane Eyre got close on Wednesday. He knows his Graham technique, and this portrait of three exotically dreary sisters has some fine satiric touches. It was danced by Mesdames Proboskovna, Sakitumi and Sonia Leftova (Dana Keough), in her quiet way one of the company's most interesting performers.
1983 June 26, Jennifer Dunning, “Dance: The Trockadero Draws Some Dancers”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015, page 44Synonyms: Mmes//Mmes., Mrses//Mrses.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounplural of Madam (“polite form of address for a woman or lady”)
nounplural of Madame (“title equivalent to Mrs. or Ms., used for French-speaking women and (by custom) certain other individuals”)
nounplural of Mrs /Mrs. (“title used before an adult woman’s name or surname”)
Origin
- FrenchMesdames
- EnglishMesdames
From French Mesdames, plural of Madame (in turn, from Old French ma dame “my lady”)
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
mesdames. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesdames
“mesdames.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesdames. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mesdames,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesdames.
Source: mesdames on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.