mesdamesEtymologyFrom French Mesdames, plural of Madame (in turn, from Old French ma dame “my lady”)nounplural of Madam (“polite form of address for a woman or lady”)“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.”