Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Used as a courtesy title before the name of a woman in an Italian-speaking area.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A lady: as, prima donna, the first female singer in an opera, oratorio, etc.
  • noun [capitalized]A common title of respect for Italian and Portuguese ladies, and in foreign languages also for Spanish ladies (in place of Spanish Doña), prefixed to the Christian name: as, Donna Margarita.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A lady; madam; mistress; -- the title given a lady in Italy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A female given name.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an Italian woman of rank

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, from Latin domina; see Doña.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

A 19th century invention from the Italian noun donna; also interpreted as a feminine form of Donald.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Donna.

Examples

  • Margarita threw back her veil (fazziolo), and replied in very explicit Venetian, '_You_ are _not_ his _wife_: _I_ am _not_ his _wife_: you are his Donna, and _I_ am his _Donna_: your husband is a _becco_, and mine is another.

    Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 4 (of 6) With His Letters and Journals Thomas Moore 1815

  • DONNA - An anonymous tip leads Donna police to more than 700 pounds of marijuana.

    NEWSCHANNEL5 Headlines 2009

  • NEAR DONNA - Authorities are investigating a kidnapping that took place Thursday just north of Donna ....

    Brownsville Herald : 2009

  • DONNA - The accident happened on FM 493 and Mile 11 1 / 2 north in Donna.

    NEWSCHANNEL5 Headlines 2009

  • For the various packaging needs, Frost adopted the donna hay mantra of "simple made special" and worked closely with Donna and her team to develop the food range's own identity.

    TheDieline.com: Package Design 2009

  • NEAR DONNA - Authorities are investigating a kidnapping that took place Thursday just north of Donna ....

    Brownsville Herald : 2009

  • For the various packaging needs, Frost adopted the donna hay mantra of "simple made special" and worked closely with Donna and her team to develop the food range's own identity.

    TheDieline.com: Package Design 2009

  • Prima Donna is about a day in the life of an ageing opera star in 1970s Paris.

    Archive 2008-09-01 The Nag 2008

  • The Prima Donna is an artist of the first order, and has an exquisite voice.

    Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910 Maud Howe Elliott 1915

  • When I Google the name of the church with the name Donna and the children’s hide-and-seek call, ollie ollie oxen free, nothing worthwhile surfaces.

    Soul Trapper F. J. Lennon 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.