Mesdames

See also: mesdames

English

Etymology

From French Mesdames, plural of Madame.

Noun

Mesdames

1. plural of Madam (“polite form of address for a woman or lady”)

   Synonym: Madams

   Coordinate term: Sirs

   • 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 49–50:

     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.

2. plural of Madame (“title equivalent to Mrs. or Ms., used for French-speaking women and (by custom) certain other individuals”)

   Synonym: Madames

   Coordinate term: Messieurs (plural of Monsieur)

   • 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 82–83:

     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.

3. plural of Mrs／Mrs. (“title used before an adult woman’s name or surname”)

   Synonyms: Mmes／Mmes., (rare) Mrses／Mrses.

   Coordinate term: Messrs／Messrs. (plural of Mr/Mr.)

   • 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 2015-05-24, page 44:

     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.

References

• E. Lillian Hutchinson (1935 May) “‘“Mr. and Mrs.” is the Name’: Fourth of a Series on English and Business Correspondence”, in The Gregg Writer, volume 37, number 9, New York, N.Y.: The Gregg Publishing Company: “For two or more men—Messrs., which is the abbreviation of the French Messieurs (Gentlemen); […] In social, personal, or legal letters, however, the woman’s married name and the title Mrs. should be used. For two or more married women—Mesdames.”
• Peter Sokolowski (2009 June 24) “Ask the Editor: Plural form of "Mr." and "Mrs."”, in The Britannica Dictionary‎, archived from the original on 2022-03-22: “The plural for Mr.: Messrs. / The plural for Mrs.: Mesdames”
• “mesdames”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present: “plural of MADAM / or of MADAME / or of MRS.”

French

Etymology

Capitalization of mesdames

Noun

Mesdames f

1. plural of Madame