Madam
Polite form of address for women / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the title. For other uses, see Madam (disambiguation). "Mme" redirects here. For other uses, see MME.
Madam (/ˈmædəm/), or madame (/ˈmædəm/ or /məˈdɑːm/),[1] is a polite and formal form of address for women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am[2] (pronounced /ˈmæm/ in American English[2] and this way but also /ˈmɑːm/ in British English[3]). The term derives from the French madame, from "ma dame" meaning "my lady". In French, the abbreviation is "Mme" or "Mme" and the plural is mesdames (abbreviated "Mmes" or "Mmes"). These terms ultimately derive from the Latin domina, meaning "mistress".[4]