dame

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

• n. Used formerly as a courtesy title for a woman in authority or a mistress of a household.
• n. A married woman; a matron.
• n. An elderly woman.
• n. Slang A woman.
• n. Chiefly British A woman holding a nonhereditary title conferred by a sovereign in recognition of personal merit or service to the country.
• n. Chiefly British The wife or widow of a knight.
• n. Chiefly British Used as the title for such a woman.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• n. The equivalent title to Sir for a female knight.
• n. Slightly derogatory way of referring to a woman.
• n. Lady, woman.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• n. A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a woman in authority; especially, a lady.
• n. The mistress of a family in common life, or the mistress of a common school.
• n. A woman in general, esp. an elderly woman.
• n. A mother; -- applied to human beings and quadrupeds.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• n. A mother.
• n. A dam: said of beasts.
• n. A woman of rank, high social position, or culture; a lady; specifically, in Great Britain, the legal title of the wife or widow of a knight or baronet.
• n. A woman in general; particularly, a woman of mature years, a married woman, or the mistress of a household: formerly often used (like the modern Mrs.) as a title, before either the surname or the Christian name.
• n. The mistress of an elementary school.
• n. In Eton, England, a woman with whom the boys board, and who has a certain care over them; sometimes, also, a man who occupies the same position.

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

• n. informal terms for a (young) woman
• n. a woman of refinement