Etymograph

English

dame

Dame comes from Old French dame ‘lady’, from Latin domina ‘mistress of the house’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *dom-o/u-nos.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dom-o/u-nos1‘of the house’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus2‘lord, master, ruler’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomina2‘mistress of the house’feminine form of dominus
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdomna3
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dame2‘lady’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dame2‘noble lady’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1576dame2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin dominus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dame
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French dame
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1576, George Whetstone, The Castle of Delight: […]: “Now, thou, deare dame, that workſte theſe ſweete effectes…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dom-o/u-nosWiktionary, Latin dominus‘of the house’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominusWiktionary, English dame‘lord, master, ruler’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominaWiktionary, English dame‘mistress of the house’feminine form of dominus
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdomnaWiktionary, Old French dame
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dameWiktionary, English dame‘lady’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dameWiktionary, English dame‘noble lady’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1576dameWiktionary, English dame. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1576, George Whetstone, The Castle of Delight: […]: “Now, thou, deare dame, that workſte theſe ſweete effectes…”

Linked words

through Latin dominus ‘lord, master, ruler’

do, don, domain, danger, dan, dominate, domination, dominion, dungeon, domino, dominatrix, dominus, domine, damsel, 8 more

through Latin domina ‘mistress of the house’

domina, 6 more

through Late Latin domna

donna

Today it means

noun Usually capitalized as Dame: a title equivalent to Sir for a female knight.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dame”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin dominus, Old French dame. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *dom-o/u-nos / dame

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