Where does “marm” come from?
Marm is a dialectal or informal contraction of English madam, which derives from Old French madame, a compound of Old French ma and Latin domina meaning "lady" or "mistress of a house," from Latin domus meaning "house."
marm (English): madam; a polite term of address for a lady
Definitions
- madam; a polite term of address for a lady
Ancestry of “marm”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ma'am | Contraction of madam; To address using "ma'am" |
| 2 | English | madam | "Mrs Grey wondered if the outfit she was trying... |
| 3 | Middle English | madame | madam polite term of address or (less often) title for a noble lady |
| 4 | Old French | madame | — |
| 5 | Old French | dame | lady; woman |
| 6 | Late Latin | domna | lady, mistress |
| 7 | Latin | domina | lady or mistress of the house |
| 8 | Latin | Dominus | the Lord; Lord; The Lord |
| 9 | Latin | domus | house, home; any building or abode; native place,... |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | domos | house, home |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dṓm | home; house |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | dem- | to build; to arrange, to put together |