(initial capital letter) Madam; Lady: a Portuguese title prefixed to a woman's given name.
(in Portuguese-speaking countries) a lady or gentlewoman.
(initial capital letter) Madam; Lady: a Spanish title prefixed to a woman's given name.
(in Spanish-speaking countries) a lady or gentlewoman.
1615–25; < Portuguese < Latin domina, feminine of dominus
1615–25; < Spanish < Latin domina, feminine of dominus
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sin dona is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
"But timeo Danaos et dona ferentes," he continued bitterly.
From Historical Romances: Under the Red Robe, Count Hannibal, A Gentleman of France by Weyman, Stanley J.
Italy's monarch, we may imagine, is muttering to himself:— Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.
From Raemaekers' Cartoons With Accompanying Notes by Well-known English Writers by Raemaekers, Louis
Finally, having it all dona to suit him, he stood erect upon the log and called out to the swimmer.
From The Rival Campers Ashore The Mystery of the Mill by Smith, Ruel Perley
In 1906, not yet having learned the lesson of "Cavete Graecos dona ferentes," and moved by the representations of Sir Harry H. Johnston, the country negotiated a new loan of £100,000.
From A Social History of the American Negro Being a History of the Negro Problem in the United States. Including A History and Study of the Republic of Liberia by Brawley, Benjamin Griffith
She looked more the part of a Mexican doña as she dawdled around her tiny apartment on a chilly Friday morning not long before coronavirus became a national crisis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2020
Today you come back from a run to find her on the stoop, talking to la doña.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 16, 2012
José will bring the doña as many guavas as she is wanting.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
If the doña insists on going, she can take that dirt road up ahead and then cross over onto the road that is paved all the way to the coffee barns.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
"You must excuse him, doña," the woman apologizes.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
With Doña Sylvia’s consent, her bouquets were also sold at the event.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2025
In fact, although much remains to be studied, the Doña Rama site would seem to be a mining town complete with a foundry, a processing area and, possibly, a fortress.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024
That's not how Doña Berta Silvestre sees it.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2024
As the sun sets over the beach, Cobos, known as Doña Lupe to neighbors, points to a dozen small, orange stars on the line of the horizon — oil platforms burning off gas.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
She lived down the road from us, past Doña Lola’s house, almost at the funnel end of the barrio.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
A Stack Infrastructure project for a fourth OpenAI facility in Dona Ana County, N.M., raised about $18 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Niwunhellage Dona Nirodha Kalapni Niwunhella, known as Nirodha, 32, died at the scene at South Morgan Place in Riverside, Cardiff, on 21 August 2025.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
The fossils were uncovered during a May 2025 excavation in the municipality of Dona Francisca in southern Brazil.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2025
After returning home, Schallock had a blind date with Dona Bernard, and they married a year later.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
Dona Amelia is onstage, in the spotlight, talking into the micro- phone.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
