dama

Compare Turkish dama, Northern Kurdish دامە (dame). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

dama (uncountable)

1. The game of Turkish draughts.

Borrowed from Chinese 大媽 / 大妈 (dàmā, “paternal aunt”)

dama (plural damas) (colloquial)

1. a rich Chinese middle-aged woman
2. (Hong Kong, derogatory, by extension) a spoilt tourist from China, usually a middle-aged woman; a Karen

• dama gazelle
• dama wallaby

• A.A.M.D., Adam

dama f (plural dames)

1. (chess) queen

Chess pieces in Asturian · pieces d'axedrez (layout · text)
rei	dama, reina	torre	alfil	caballu	peón

Cognate with Eastern Maninkakan dàma.

dama

1. number, quantity
2. limit

dama

1. only

Borrowed from French dame, from Latin domina. Doublet of dona.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈda.mə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈda.ma]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

dama f (plural dames)

1. lady (graceful, elegant or noble woman)
2. (chess) queen
3. (in the plural) checkers (US), draughts (UK)

Chess pieces in Catalan · peces d'escacs (layout · text)
rei	reina, dama	torre	alfil	cavall	peó

Borrowed from Spanish damas.

• Hyphenation: da‧ma

dama

1. the game of checkers
2. (checkers) a king
3. a demijohn

dama

1. (checkers) to crown a king

Borrowed from English dame.

dama f (plural damyow)

1. mother, dame

   Synonym: mamm

• sira (“sir, father”)

• IPA^(key): /da.ma/
• Homophones: damas, damât

dama

1. third-person singular past historic of damer

• Adam

Borrowed from French dame.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪a.mɐ]
• Rhymes: -ama
• Hyphenation: da‧ma

dama f (plural damas)

1. lady, dame, woman of high status
2. (chess) queen

   Synonym: raíña

Chess pieces in Galician · pezas de xadrez (layout · text)
rei	dama, raíña	torre, roque	alfil	cabalo	peón

• “dama”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “dama”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

From (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

dama

1. drum

• IPA^(key): /dáː.máː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [dáː.máː]

dāmā f (possessed form dāmar̃)

1. chance, opportunity, possibility
2. equal, something comparable
3. improvement

• Newman, Paul (2007), A Hausa-English Dictionary (Yale Language Series), New Haven; London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 41.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaːma/
• Rhymes: -aːma

dama f (genitive singular dömu, nominative plural dömur)

1. lady (also used as a third person address)

   Hvað má bjóða dömunni?

   What may be offered the lady? (speaking to the lady herself)

• dömur mínar og herrar

• frú
• lafði

• Adam

Borrowed from Spanish damas.

• Hyphenation: da‧ma
• IPA^(key): /ˈdama/

dama

1. (board games) checkers (US); draughts (UK)

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/
• Rhymes: -ama
• Hyphenation: dà‧ma

Borrowed from French dame. Doublet of donna.

dama f (plural dame)

1. lady
2. (board games, in the singular) draughts/checkers
3. king (in draughts/checkers)
4. draughtboard/checkerboard
5. queen (playing card)

• (lady): donna (archaic), lady, signora

• → Ottoman Turkish: دامه (dama), տամա (dama) — Armeno-Turkish
  • Turkish: dama
  • → Armenian: տամա (tama)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

dama

1. inflection of damare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• Adam

dama

1. (Banawá) to hold securely

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

dama

1. Rōmaji transcription of だま
2. Rōmaji transcription of ダマ

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

Borrowed from Polish dama.

dama f

1. lady

Borrowed from German Damm. Doublet of tama, a form borrowed from Polish. Compare Slovincian dama.

dama f

1. dam

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “tama”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[1]
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “dama”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[2]
• “dama”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

dāma f (genitive dāmae); first declension

1. alternative form of damma (“fallow deer”)

First-declension noun.

• “dama”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “dama”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

• (damà) IPA^(key): [d̪ɐˈmɐ]
• (dãma) IPA^(key): [ˈd̪ä̌ːmɐ]

damà f (plural dãmos) stress pattern 2

1. lady^[1]
2. (card games) queen

• (lady): ponia
• (queen): karalienė

• mada

From Spanish damas.

dama

1. checkers, draughts

• damadama (“checkered”)

• Howard P. McKaughan, Batua A. Macaraya (1967), A Maranao Dictionary‎^[3] (overall work in Maranao and English), University of Hawaii Press

• damen

dama m or f

1. definite feminine singular of dame

dama f (definite singular dama, indefinite plural damer or damor, definite plural damene or damone)

1. definite singular of dame
2. (pre-2012) alternative form of dame

• IPA^(key): /ˈd̪a.β̃a/

·dama

1. third-person singular present subjunctive conjunct of daimid

Borrowed from French dame. Doublet of domina.

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

dama f

1. lady

   Synonyms: białogłowa, facetka, kobiałka, kobieta, niewiasta

2. (card games) queen

   dama karo ― queen of diamonds

   dama kier ― queen of hearts

   dama pik ― queen of spades

   dama trefl ― queen of clubs

3. (chess, colloquial) queen (chess piece)

   Synonyms: hetman, królowa, królówka

Chess pieces in Polish · bierki szachowe (layout · text)
król	hetman, królowa, królówka, dama	wieża	goniec, laufer, giermek	skoczek, koń, konik	pion, pionek

Playing cards in Polish · karty do gry (layout · text)
as	dwójka	trójka	czwórka	piątka	szóstka	siódemka
ósemka	dziewiątka	dziesiątka	walet	dama	król	dżoker

• dama in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• dama in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Borrowed from French dame, from Latin domina.^[1][2] Doublet of dona.

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɐmɐ, (Brazil) -ɐ̃mɐ
• Hyphenation: da‧ma

dama f (plural damas)

1. lady
2. (chess) queen

   Synonym: rainha

4. (card games) queen

   Synonym: rainha

5. (board games) king (a piece of checkers that reached the farthest row forward)

Chess pieces in Portuguese · peças de xadrez (layout · text)
rei	rainha, dama	torre	bispo	cavalo	peão

Playing cards in Portuguese · cartas de baralho (layout · text)
ás	dois, duque	três, terno	quatro, quadra	cinco, quina	seis, sena	sete, bisca, manilha
oito	nove	dez	valete	dama, rainha	rei	jóquer, curinga

• “dama”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

• IPA^(key): [ˈdama]

dama f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of damă

• IPA^(key): /dǎːma/
• Hyphenation: da‧ma

dáma f (Cyrillic spelling да́ма)

1. lady
2. (chess, card games) queen

Chess pieces in Serbo-Croatian · šahovske figure / шаховске фигуре (layout · text)
kralj краљ	dama, kraljica дама, краљица	top, kula топ, кула	lovac, trkač, laufer ловац, тркач, лауфер	skakač, konj скакач, коњ	pješak, pešak, pion, pijun пјешак, пешак, пион, пијун

Playing cards in Serbo-Croatian · igraće karte (layout · text)
as, kec	dvojka, dvica	trojka, trica	četvorka, četvrtica	petica	šestica	sedmica
osmica	devetka, devetica	desetka, desetica	dečko, pub, žandar, fant	kraljica, dama	kralj	džoker

• “dama”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

• IPA^(key): /dàːma/

dáma f

1. lady
2. (chess) queen
3. (card games) queen

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, a-stem
nom. sing.	dáma
gen. sing.	dáme
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	dáma	dámi	dáme
genitive (rodȋlnik)	dáme	dám	dám
dative (dajȃlnik)	dámi	dámama	dámam
accusative (tožȋlnik)	dámo	dámi	dáme
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	dámi	dámah	dámah
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	dámo	dámama	dámami

Playing cards in Slovene · igralne karte (layout · text)
as, enka	dvojka	trojka	štirka, štirica	petka, petica	šestka, šestica	sedemka, sedmica
osmica	devetka, devetica	desetka, desetica	fant	kraljica, dama	kralj	joker

• “dama”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “dama”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Borrowed from German Damm. Compare Kashubian dama.

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

dama f

1. dam

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908), “dą̃mă”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[4] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 171

Borrowed from French dame, from Latin domina. Doublet of dueña.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪a.ma]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

dama f (plural damas, masculine caballero, masculine plural caballeros)

1. lady, dame

   Synonyms: señora, ama

2. (Mexico) a female member of the court of honor at a quinceañera

   Coordinate term: chambelán

3. (chess) queen

   Synonym: reina

4. (checkers) king

   Synonym: reina

Chess pieces in Spanish · piezas de ajedrez (layout · text)
rey	dama, reina	torre, roque	alfil	caballo	peón

• “dama”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• amad

Borrowed from Portuguese damas.^[1][2]

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

dama class IX (no plural)

1. draughts, checkers

• drafti

Compare Malay jamah.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /daˈma/ [d̪ɐˈma]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: da‧ma

damá (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. feeling; perception

   Synonyms: damdam, pakiramdam

2. opinion about something

   Synonyms: kuro, kuro-kuro, palagay

damá (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. felt; perceived

Borrowed from Spanish damas.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪aː.mɐ]
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

dama (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. checkers; draughts
2. (checkers) king

• perdegana

Borrowed from Spanish dama (“lady, dame”).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈdama/ [ˈd̪aː.mɐ]
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: da‧ma

dama (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ)

1. maid of honor; lady-in-waiting

   Synonym: abay

• “dama”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish دامه (dama), from Italian dama, from French dame, Old French dame, from Late Latin domna, shortened variant of Latin domina.

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.ma/
• Hyphenation: da‧ma

dama (definite accusative damayı, plural damalar)

1. (board games) checkers

• “dama”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “dama”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “dama”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

• adam

From Proto-Oceanic *dramaʀ (“light, torch”), variant of *ramaʀ with irregular loss of *ʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *damaʀ, from Proto-Austronesian *damaʀ.

• IPA^(key): /dama/

dama

1. light

• Terry Crowley et al, The Oceanic Languages (2013), page 380
• Johnston, R.L. 1982. "Proto-Kimbe and the New Guinea Oceanic hypothesis". In Halim, A., Carrington, L. and Wurm, S.A. editors. Papers from the Third International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, Vol. 1: Currents in Oceanic, 59-95.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd̪a.ma/

dama

1. forest

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[5], Pacific linguistics

• IPA^(key): [dama]

dama

1. ocean, sea

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011), “dama”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[6], Lyon
• Costa, Isabella Coutinho; Silva, Marcelo Costa da; Rodrigues, Edmilson Magalhães (2021), “dama”, in Portal Japiim: Dicionário Ye'kwana‎^[7], Museu do Índio/FUNAI
• Hall, Katherine Lee (1988), The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volumes I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University, pages 219, 388: “[damạ] 'sea' […] dama - sea”
• Hall, Katherine (2007), “dama”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎^[8], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
• de Civrieux, Marc (1980), “dama”, in  David M. Guss, transl., Watunna: An Orinoco Creation Cycle, San Francisco: North Point Press, →ISBN