English
Mesdames
Mesdames comes from French Madame.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentMadameas Mesdames
- Englishearliest quotation 1792Mesdames
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentMadameas Mesdames
- Englishearliest quotation 1792Mesdames
Earliest quotation: 1792, I. G. Rievethal, Who Apply Themselves to the English Tongue: “The conſtant queſtion, upon her offering to ſtir abroad,…”
Every English word from French Madame
Today it means
noun plural of Madam (“polite form of address for a woman or lady”)
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French Madame / Mesdames