dona

¹

[daw-nah]

noun

1. (initial capital letter),  Madam; Lady: a Portuguese title prefixed to a woman's given name.

2. (in Portuguese-speaking countries) a lady or gentlewoman.

doña

²

[daw-nyah]

noun

1. (initial capital letter),  Madam; Lady: a Spanish title prefixed to a woman's given name.

2. (in Spanish-speaking countries) a lady or gentlewoman.

Doña

¹

/ ˈdɒnjə, ˈdoɲa /

noun

1. a Spanish title of address equivalent to Mrs or Madam : placed before a name to indicate respect

Dona

²

/ ˈdõːnə /

noun

1. a Portuguese title of address equivalent to Mrs or Madam : placed before a name to indicate respect

Word History and Origins

Origin of dona¹

1615–25; < Portuguese < Latin domina, feminine of dominus

Origin of dona²

1615–25; < Spanish < Latin domina, feminine of dominus

Word History and Origins

Origin of dona¹

C17: via Spanish, from Latin domina; see _Dona

Origin of dona²

C19: from Latin domina lady, feminine of dominus master

Example Sentences

Dona Elliott, 59, owns this combination country store and saloon, built in 1929 of clapboard and shingles, uphill from the river and hard by a narrow woodland road.

From Los Angeles Times

Dona Elliott is short, soft-spoken and has wavy brown hair, but she has been known to throw unruly drunks out the front door bodily and by herself.

From Los Angeles Times

“He pulls it all off pretty good,” says Steve Forney, 40, of Kelso, Wash., a biker who parks his 1979 Harley shovelhead in a special spot at the door that Dona Elliott reserves for motorcycles.

From Los Angeles Times

We must take the stance expressed by Doña Josefa Alamar, a protagonist of “The Squatter and the Don.”

From Los Angeles Times

Niwunhellage Dona Nirodha Kalapni Niwunhella, 32, who was known as Nirodha, died at the scene, and a murder investigation has been launched.

From BBC