Definitions

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

  • noun The Virgin Mary, especially as depicted in art.
  • noun An image or figure of the Virgin Mary.
  • noun Obsolete Used as a form of polite address for a woman, especially in an Italian-speaking area.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun My lady; madam: an Italian title of address or of courtesy, equivalent to madam.
  • noun Specifically
  • noun [capitalized] The Virgin Mary (“Our Lady”); hence, a picture representing the Virgin.
  • noun A kind of luster made in part of alpacawool.

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

  • noun My lady; -- a term of address in Italian formerly used as the equivalent of Madame, but for which Signora is now substituted. Sometimes introduced into English.
  • noun A picture of the Virgin Mary (usually with the babe).

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

  • proper noun The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.
  • proper noun A female given name.

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

  • noun the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
  • noun United States pop singer and sex symbol during the 1980s (born in 1958)

Etymologies

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

[Italian, from Old Italian : ma- (variant of mia, my, from Latin mea; see Madame) + donna, lady (from Latin domina; see Madame).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Italian madonna, from Old Italian ma ("my") + donna ("lady"). The given name is derived from the English term, not used as a given name in Italy.

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Examples

  • Madonna made her fortune selling sex — what will she sell when the thought of sex with Madonna seems like a fetish?

    Madonnarama! Cohen, Rich 2008

  • CHRISTOPHER CICCONE, MADONNA ` S BROTHER: It would be difficult for anyone to be married to Madonna.

    CNN Transcript Jul 16, 2008 2008

  • An inhabitant of village A would stand a poor chance of his prayers being heard by the Madonna of village B; if you have a headache, it is no use applying to the _Madonna of the Hens, _ who deals with diseases of women; you will find yourself in a pretty fix if you expect financial assistance from the Madonna of village C: she is a weather-specialist.

    Old Calabria Norman Douglas 1910

  • "Bless you, madonna! bless you!" said the faint chorus, in much the same tone as that in which they had a few minutes before praised and thanked the unseen Madonna.

    Romola George Eliot 1849

  • Pics from Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon subcribe for Lourdes here are some pictures from madonna ` s daughter Lourdes music: Madonna - Celebration

    WN.com - Articles related to Pop Queen Madonna's potshot at the Queen Mother 2010

  • Pics from Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon subcribe for Lourdes here are some pictures from madonna ` s daughter Lourdes music: Madonna - Celebration

    WN.com - Articles related to Madonna's daughter Lourdes turns cover girl 2010

  • But not this dress and the bunny ears on madonna. destari Eric You know you have a legacy when people can refer to you only by a single name (Tesla, Jackson, Madonna, Einstein, etc).

    Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 2009

  • PURCHASE TICKETS FOR MADONNA BELOW Madonna Tickets at ORACLE Arena FOR MADONNA TICKETS ANYWHERE IN THE US CLICK HERE I am so excited to see Madonna in a few weeks I can hardly contain Two!

    unknown title 2008

  • PURCHASE TICKETS FOR MADONNA BELOW Madonna Tickets at ORACLE Arena FOR MADONNA TICKETS ANYWHERE IN THE US CLICK HERE I am so excited to see Madonna in a few weeks I can hardly contain Two!

    unknown title 2008

  • PURCHASE TICKETS FOR MADONNA BELOW Madonna Tickets at ORACLE Arena FOR MADONNA TICKETS ANYWHERE IN THE US CLICK HERE I am so excited to see Madonna in a few weeks I can hardly contain Two!

    unknown title 2008

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