dama

See also: Dama, dáma, Dáma, damá, damà, dàmá, Dàmǎ, dāma, dāmā, dâma, dàmā, dǎmǎ, damă, damą, də́ma, ɗama, damaʼ, and dama-

Languages (34)

English

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Page categories

English

This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

Etymology

Compare Turkish dama, Northern Kurdish دامە (dame). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

dama (uncountable)

1. The game of Turkish draughts.

See also

• dama gazelle
• dama wallaby

Anagrams

• A.A.M.D., Adam

Asturian

Noun

dama f (plural dames)

1. (chess) queen

See also

Chess pieces in Asturian · pieces d'axedrez (layout · text)
rei	dama, reina	torre	alfil	caballu	peón

Bambara

Etymology

Cognate with Eastern Maninkakan dàma.

Noun

dama

1. number, quantity
2. limit

Adverb

dama

1. only

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French dame, from Latin domina. Doublet of dona.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈda.mə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈda.ma]

Noun

dama f (plural dames)

1. lady (graceful, elegant or noble woman)
2. (chess) queen
3. (in the plural) checkers (US), draughts (UK)

See also

Chess pieces in Catalan · peces d'escacs (layout · text)
rei	reina, dama	torre	alfil	cavall	peó

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish damas.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: da‧ma

Noun

dama

1. the game of checkers
2. (checkers) a king
3. a demijohn

Verb

dama

1. (checkers) to crown a king

Cornish

Noun

dama f (plural damyow)

1. mother, dam

Synonyms

• mamm/mabm

Derived terms

• dama-wydn

See also

• sira/syra

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /da.ma/
• Homophones: damas, damât

Verb

dama

1. third-person singular past historic of damer

Anagrams

• Adam

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from French dame.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪a.mɐ]
• Rhymes: -ama
• Hyphenation: da‧ma

Noun

dama f (plural damas)

1. lady, dame, woman of high status
2. (chess) queen

   Synonym: raíña

See also

Chess pieces in Galician · pezas de xadrez (layout · text)
rei	dama, raíña	torre, roque	alfil	cabalo	peón

Garo

Etymology

From (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

dama

1. drum

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dáː.máː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [dáː.máː]

Noun

dāmā f (possessed form dāmar̃)

1. chance, opportunity, possibility
2. equal, something comparable
3. improvement

References

• Newman, Paul (2007) A Hausa-English Dictionary (Yale Language Series), New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 41.

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaːma/
• Rhymes: -aːma

Noun

dama f (genitive singular dömu, nominative plural dömur)

1. lady (also used as a third person address)

   Hvað má bjóða dömunni?

   What may be offered the lady? (speaking to the lady herself)

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dama	daman	dömur	dömurnar
accusative	dömu	dömuna	dömur	dömurnar
dative	dömu	dömunni	dömum	dömunum
genitive	dömu	dömunnar	dama	damanna

Declension of dama (feminine)

Derived terms

• dömur mínar og herrar

See also

• frú
• lafði

Anagrams

• Adam

Ilocano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish damas.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: da‧ma
• IPA^(key): /ˈdama/

Noun

dama

1. (board games) checkers (US); draughts (UK)

Derived terms

• agdama
• pagdamaan

 

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/
• Rhymes: -ama
• Hyphenation: dà‧ma

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French dame. Doublet of donna.

Noun

dama f (plural dame)

1. lady
2. (board games, in the singular) draughts/checkers
3. king (in draughts/checkers)
4. draughtboard/checkerboard
5. queen (playing card)

Synonyms

• (lady): donna (archaic), lady, signora

Descendants

• → Ottoman Turkish: دامه (dama)
  • Turkish: dama
  • → Armenian: տամա (tama)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

dama

1. inflection of damare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• Adam

Jamamadí

Verb

dama

1. (Banawá) to hold securely

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Japanese

Romanization

dama

1. Rōmaji transcription of だま
2. Rōmaji transcription of ダマ

Kashubian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Polish dama.

Noun

dama f

1. lady

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Damm. Doublet of tama, a form borrowed from Polish. Compare Slovincian dama.

Noun

dama f

1. dam

Further reading

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “tama”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “dama”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎
• “dama”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Latin

Noun

dāma f (genitive dāmae); first declension

1. Alternative form of damma (“fallow deer”)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	dāma	dāmae
genitive	dāmae	dāmārum
dative	dāmae	dāmīs
accusative	dāmam	dāmās
ablative	dāmā	dāmīs
vocative	dāma	dāmae

References

• “dama”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• dama in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

• (damà) IPA^(key): [d̪ɐˈmɐ]
• (dãma) IPA^(key): [ˈd̪ä̌ːmɐ]

Noun

damà f (plural dãmos) stress pattern 2

1. lady^[1]
2. (card games) queen

Declension

	singular (vienaskaita)	plural (daugiskaita)
nominative (vardininkas)	damà	dãmos
genitive (kilmininkas)	dãmos	dãmų
dative (naudininkas)	dãmai	dãmoms
accusative (galininkas)	dãmą	damàs
instrumental (įnagininkas)	damà	dãmomis
locative (vietininkas)	dãmoje	dãmose
vocative (šauksmininkas)	dãma	dãmos

Declension of damà

See also

• (lady): ponia
• (queen): karalienė

References

1. “dama” in Martsinkyavitshute, Victoria (1993), Hippocrene Concise Dictionary: Lithuanian-English/English-Lithuanian. New York: Hippocrene Books. →ISBN

Anagrams

• mada

Maranao

Etymology

From Spanish damas.

Noun

dama

1. checkers, draughts

Derived terms

• damadama (“checkered”)

References

• A Maranao Dictionary, by Howard P. McKaughan and Batua A. Macaraya

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• damen

Noun

dama m or f

1. definite feminine singular of dame

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

dama f (definite singular dama, indefinite plural damer or damor, definite plural damene or damone)

1. definite singular of dame
2. (pre-2012) alternative form of dame

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdaβ̃a]

Verb

·dama

1. third-person singular present subjunctive conjunct of daimid

Mutation

Mutation of dama

radical	lenition	nasalization
·dama	·dama pronounced with /-ð(ʲ)-/	·ndama

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

dama

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from French dame, Old French dame, from Late Latin domna, shortened variant of Latin domina. Doublet of domina.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Noun

dama f

1. lady

   Synonyms: białogłowa, facetka, kobiałka, kobieta, niewiasta

2. (card games) queen

   dama karo ― queen of diamonds

   dama kier ― queen of hearts

   dama pik ― queen of spades

   dama trefl ― queen of clubs

3. (chess, colloquial) queen (chess piece)

   Synonyms: hetman, królowa, królówka

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	dama	damy
genitive	damy	dam
dative	damie	damom
accusative	damę	damy
instrumental	damą	damami
locative	damie	damach
vocative	damo	damy

Declension of dama

Derived terms

noun

• bawidamek
• biała dama

 

See also

Chess pieces in Polish · bierki szachowe (layout · text)
król	hetman, królowa, królówka, dama	wieża	goniec, laufer, giermek	skoczek, koń, konik	pion, pionek

Playing cards in Polish · karty do gry (layout · text)
as	dwójka	trójka	czwórka	piątka	szóstka	siódemka
ósemka	dziewiątka	dziesiątka	walet	dama	król	dżoker

Further reading

• dama in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• dama in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

dama

Etymology

Borrowed from French dame,^[1] from Latin domina.^[2] Doublet of dona.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdɐ̃.mɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdɐ̃.mɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdɐ.ma/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdɐ.mɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdɐ.mɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈda.mɐ/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɐmɐ, (Brazil) -ɐ̃mɐ
• Hyphenation: da‧ma

Noun

dama f (plural damas)

1. lady
2. (chess) queen
3. (card games) queen

See also

Chess pieces in Portuguese · peças de xadrez (layout · text)
rei	rainha, dama	torre	bispo	cavalo	peão

Playing cards in Portuguese · cartas de baralho (layout · text)
ás	dois, duque	três, terno	quatro, quadra	cinco, quina	seis, sena	sete, bisca, manilha
oito	nove	dez	valete	dama	rei	jóquer, curinga

References

1. “dama”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024
2. “dama”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdama]

Noun

dama f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of damă

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dǎːma/
• Hyphenation: da‧ma

Noun

dáma f (Cyrillic spelling да́ма)

1. lady
2. (chess, card games) queen

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	dama	dame
genitive	dame	dama
dative	dami	damama
accusative	damu	dame
vocative	damo	dame
locative	dami	damama
instrumental	damom	damama

Declension of dama

See also

Chess pieces in Serbo-Croatian · šahovske figure / шаховске фигуре (layout · text)
kralj краљ	dama, kraljica дама, краљица	top, kula топ, кула	lovac, trkač, laufer ловац, тркач, лауфер	skakač, konj скакач, коњ	pješak, pešak, pion, pijun пјешак, пешак, пион, пијун

Playing cards in Serbo-Croatian · igraće karte (layout · text)
as, kec	dvojka, dvica	trojka, trica	četvorka, četvrtica	petica	šestica	sedmica
osmica	devetka, devetica	desetka, desetica	dečko, pub, žandar, fant	kraljica, dama	kralj	džoker

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dàːma/

Noun

dáma f

1. lady
2. (chess) queen
3. (card games) queen

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, a-stem
nom. sing.	dáma
gen. sing.	dáme
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	dáma	dámi	dáme
genitive (rodȋlnik)	dáme	dám	dám
dative (dajȃlnik)	dámi	dámama	dámam
accusative (tožȋlnik)	dámo	dámi	dáme
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	dámi	dámah	dámah
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	dámo	dámama	dámami

See also

Playing cards in Slovene · igralne karte (layout · text)
as, enka	dvojka	trojka	štirka, štirica	petka, petica	šestka, šestica	sedemka, sedmica
osmica	devetka, devetica	desetka, desetica	fant	kraljica, dama	kralj	joker

Slovincian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Damm. Compare Kashubian dama.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Noun

dama f

1. dam

Further reading

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908) “dą̃mă”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎ (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 171

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French dame, from Latin domina. Doublet of dueña.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪a.ma]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Noun

dama f (plural damas, masculine caballero, masculine plural caballeros)

1. lady, dame

   Synonyms: señora, ama

2. (Mexico) a female member of the court of honor at a quinceañera

   Coordinate term: chambelán

3. (chess) queen

   Synonym: reina

4. (checkers) king

   Synonym: reina

Derived terms

• dama de compañía
• dama de honor
• dama de noche
• damas y caballeros
• primera dama
• zapatito de dama

 

See also

Chess pieces in Spanish · piezas de ajedrez (layout · text)
rey	dama, reina	torre, roque	alfil	caballo	peón

Further reading

• “dama”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Anagrams

• amad

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese damas.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

dama class IX (no plural)

1. draughts, checkers

Synonyms

• drafti

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Compare Malay jamah.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /daˈma/ [d̪ɐˈma]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Noun

damá (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. feeling; perception

   Synonyms: damdam, pakiramdam

2. opinion about something

   Synonyms: kuro, kuro-kuro, palagay

Adjective

damá (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. felt; perceived

Derived terms

• damahin
• dumama
• ipadama
• madama
• makadama
• pagdama
• pandama

 

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish damas.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪aː.mɐ]
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Noun

dama (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. checkers; draughts
2. (checkers) king

Derived terms

• dama-dama
• damahan
• magdama

 

See also

• perdegana

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Spanish dama (“lady, dame”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪aː.mɐ]
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Noun

dama (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. maid of honor; lady-in-waiting

   Synonym: abay

Derived terms

• dama de-notse
• damahuwana

 

Further reading

• “dama”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Uneapa

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *dramaʀ (“light, torch”), variant of *ramaʀ with irregular loss of *ʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *damaʀ, from Proto-Austronesian *damaʀ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dama/

Noun

dama

1. light

Further reading

• Terry Crowley et al, The Oceanic Languages (2013), page 380
• Johnston, R.L. 1982. "Proto-Kimbe and the New Guinea Oceanic hypothesis". In Halim, A., Carrington, L. and Wurm, S.A. editors. Papers from the Third International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, Vol. 1: Currents in Oceanic, 59-95.

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd̪a.ma/

Noun

dama

1. forest

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎, Pacific linguistics

Ye'kwana

Variant orthographies

ALIV	dama
Brazilian standard	dama
New Tribes	dama

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dama]

Noun

dama

1. ocean, sea

References

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011) “dama”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎, Lyon
• Costa, Isabella Coutinho, Silva, Marcelo Costa da, Rodrigues, Edmilson Magalhães (2021) “dama”, in Portal Japiim: Dicionário Ye'kwana‎, Museu do Índio/FUNAI
• Hall, Katherine Lee (1988) The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volumes I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University, pages 219, 388: “[damạ] 'sea' […] dama - sea”
• Hall, Katherine (2007) “dama”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎, Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
• de Civrieux, Marc (1980) “dama”, in  David M. Guss, transl., Watunna: An Orinoco Creation Cycle, San Francisco: North Point Press, →ISBN