grande dame

[gran dam, deym, grahnd dam]

noun

plural

grandes dames 

1. a usually elderly woman of dignified or aristocratic bearing.

2. a woman who is the doyenne of a specific field.

   a grande dame of the American theater.

grande dame

/ ɡrɑ̃d dam /

noun

1. a woman regarded as the most experienced, prominent, or venerable member of her profession, etc

   the grande dame of fashion

Word History and Origins

Origin of grande dame¹

1735–45; < French: literally, great lady

Example Sentences

Today’s glass and steel tower over the bones of what was once the grande dame of colonial luxury, the Hong Kong Hotel.

From Salon

But now the grande dame has decided to hang up her ballet shoes after a 72 year career.

From BBC

Lange’s Lillian Hall is a theater grande dame playing the charismatic matriarch in a Broadway revival of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard.”

From New York Times

In the summer of 1974, I was working as a waiter at the White Elephant, the grande dame of Nantucket hotels, a rambling gray-shingled pile that sits right on the island’s harbor.

From New York Times

The first pick here comes from a grande dame of Australian letters, although she would probably balk at the term.

From New York Times

Related Words

• dowager 
• housekeeper 
• matriarch