Madam
, Madame
, ma'am
, or Mme
is a title for a woman. It is derived from the French madame
(see different meanings of madame here), the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and literally signifying "my lady." The plural of madam
in this sense is mesdames
. The French madame is in turn derived from the Latin mea domina
meaning 'my mistress' of the home (domus
). [1] "Madam" may also refer to a woman who runs a brothel [2] [3].
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MADAM TICKETS
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Use as a form of address
Madam
is used in direct address, without the woman's name, for example when addressed by a stranger:
May I help you, madam?
In the
United States and in
Canada, "Ma'am" is usually used. The male equivalent is
sir. Spelling of the word is often quarreled; some argue it is spelled "M'am" while it is widely accepted the correct form is "Ma'am". When addressing a letter to the holder of a particular position (for example, the editor of the
Letters to the Editor column in a newspaper) without knowing the name of the addressee and if it is a man or a woman, it is common to address the letter with "
Dear Sir or Madam
".
Formal address and protocol
In English-speaking countries, the wife of a foreign dignitary is called
Madame
(note final 'e') in direct address and formal correspondence, rather than the equivalent word in the person's native language (
Señora
,
Frau
etc.).
After addressing her as "Your Majesty," it is proper to address
The Queen of the United Kingdom as "Ma'am" for the remainder of the conversation, with the pronunciation as in "ham" and not as in "farm".
[4]
Usage of "Ma'am" is common in the
Southern United States and in
Western Canada.
In composed titles
Madam
is also used as the equivalent of
Mister (Mr) in composed titles, such as
Madam Justice
,
Madam Speaker
,
Madam President
. In the US, most of these titles are usually used only in direct address, without the woman's last name: one would say
President Smith
, not
Madam President Smith
, even if one would otherwise address her as
Madam President.
In the UK, job titles such as
President
or
Prime Minister
are not used as titles, as such. By the precedent set by
Betty Boothroyd, a female
speaker of the house of commons is
Madam Speaker
,
Madam Speaker Boothroyd
, or
Miss Boothroyd
.
However, the title
Madam Justice
is used in third-person reference:
Madam Justice Louise Arbour, Madam Justice Arbour
.
In the
United States Supreme Court, in the
Canada Supreme Court, and the superior courts of Australia, rather than adopting the title
Madam Justice
for female justices, the title
Mr Justice
was replaced simply by
Justice
. Likewise, female presidents of the
Republic of Ireland have preferred to be addressed simply as
President
in direct address, rather than
Madam President
. Female judges of the
High Court of Justice of England and Wales are titled
Mrs Justice
rather than
Madam Justice
, regardless of marital status. However,
District Judges are referred to as either Madam or Ma'am.
Military and police use
"Ma'am" is commonly used to address female officers of the rank of
Inspector and above in
British police forces and female
Commissioned Officers and
Warrant Officers in the
British Armed Forces. Although the correct pronunciation is to rhyme the word with 'ham', the same as if addressing the Queen, female officers are still generally addressed as Ma'am rhyming with 'farm' in practice.
In the
United States Armed Forces and in the
Canadian Armed Forces, "ma'am" is used to address female commissioned officers and Warrant Officers.
U.S. Marine recruits and
U.S. Air Force trainees also address female
non-commissioned officers as "ma'am."
Ancien régime
France
Under the
Ancien régime
,
Madame
was the wife of
Monsieur
, the eldest of the King's brothers.
For other royal French styles
- Dauphin
- Madame Royale
- Monsieur
- Fils de France
- Petit-Fils de France
- Prince du Sang
- First Prince of the Blood
- Prince of the Blood
See also
- Wayland Flowers: Created a famous puppet named Madame.
References
- Caesar And Christ, Will Durrent, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1944
- http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/27/dc.madam/index.html State Department official resigns ove
- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/madam Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ma%27am