dame

\dam\

/\dam\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“dame” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,255 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,255
frequency rank, French
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Femme qui appartient à la noblesse.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dame vs de
50% similar
dame vs dm
50% similar
dame vs due
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dame
PropertyValue
Headworddame
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\dam\
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,255
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dame” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). dame lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for dame is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \dam\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,255 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for dame, with forms such as "adme", "daem", and "ddame". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "de", "dm", "due", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is dame, spelled D-A-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Femme qui appartient à la noblesse.
  2. 2
    Femme à laquelle un chevalier consacrait ses soins et ses exploits.
  3. 3
    Titre donné aux religieuses des abbayes et ainsi qu’aux chanoinesses.
  4. 4
    Titre que l’on donnait par honneur aux femmes.
  5. 5
    Femme d’un rang social élevé.
  6. 6
    Terme courtois pour toute femme adulte.
  7. 7
    Femme, épouse.
  8. 8
    Toute femme.
  9. 9
    Pièce de nombreux jeux de pions ou de cartes.
  10. 10
    Pièce constituée par deux pions l’un sur l’autre pouvant se déplacer sur tout le damier.
  11. 11
    Reine, pièce du jeu d’échecs.
  12. 12
    Reine, élément d’un jeu de cartes.
  13. 13
    Pièce du jacquet, de trictrac, de backgammon.
  14. 14
    Allégorie d’une construction, d’une institution dont le substantif est au féminin.
  15. 15
    Outil de travaux publics, muni de deux anses, ou doté d’un manche, servant à tasser le sol ou à enfoncer des pavés.
  16. 16
    Ellipse de « dame de nage ». Désigne un tolet à fourche.

Synonyms

reinedemoisellehiepilon

This word in other languages

lady(English)dama(Español)Dame(Deutsch)senhora(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: adme,daem,ddame,dmae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dame - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

adme2daem2ddame1dmae2
Edit distance from "dame"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dame"?
"dame" is spelled D-A-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is \dam\.
What does "dame" mean?
As a noun, "dame" means: Femme qui appartient à la noblesse.
What words are commonly confused with "dame"?
"dame" is commonly confused with "de", "dm", "due". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dame"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dame" is \dam\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "dame" come from?
"dame" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “dame”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is D-A-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \dam\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “de” - see the side-by-side comparison. dame vs de
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list