mademoiselle French · revision 16841

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1471|origins=la domina}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mad.mwa.zɛl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mademoiselle''' ''f'' (plural mesdemoiselles or mademoiselles, abbreviation Mlle or Mlle.)^(Wiktionary)

+ Plural ''mesdemoiselles''; familiar contractions ''mameselle'' (1680), ''mamzelle'', ''mam'selle''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|fr|ma|demoiselle]], with the possessive, as [[madame]] is from [[dame]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) In the Middle Ages the possessive and the noun were not yet felt as one word.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The noun comes from [[la-lat|*domnicella]], for [[m|la-lat|*dominicella]], a diminutive of [[la|domina|t=mistress, lady]], a word found only in Gallo-Romance.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|3, 133b)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A document of 1471 in the archives of the Nord uses it as a title given to certain women of rank.^(TLFi) Des Périers (about 1534) has a gentleman speak of ''ma demoiselle ma femme'', and Montaigne writes ''À mademoiselle de Montaigne, ma femme''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before the Revolution ''mademoiselle'' was the title of noblewomen without a title of their own, married or not, then of women of the bourgeoisie, while ''madame'' was reserved for women of higher rank.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) With a capital it was the title of the daughter of Monsieur, the king's brother, the ''Grande Mademoiselle'' (Madame de Sévigné, 1670).^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ The modern opposition between ''mademoiselle'' for unmarried women and ''madame'' formed in the 17th century: Furetière (1690) gives it to all unmarried girls “provided they are not of the dregs of the people, or daughters of craftsmen”, and the Académie (1718) calls it the usual title of girls.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Diderot (1760–72) uses it for the daughter of the house.^(TLFi) English borrowed it as a title for a Frenchwoman in the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1471 – A title of women of rank.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1534 – ''Ma demoiselle ma femme'', Des Périers.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1670 – ''Mademoiselle'', the daughter of Monsieur, Madame de Sévigné.^(TLFi)

+ * 1680 – The contraction ''mameselle''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1690 – The title of unmarried girls, Furetière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1760–1772 – “The daughter of the house”, Diderot.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Miss: a title or form of address for a girl or young woman, formerly for any unmarried woman: ''Mademoiselle Dupont'', ''bonjour, mademoiselle''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' The young lady of the house: ''Mademoiselle a téléphoné''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(history)'' A title of noblewomen without a title, ''la Grande Mademoiselle'', the Duchess of Montpensier.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mondamoiseau]]

+ * [[demoiselle]]

+ * [[madame]]

+ * [[damoiseau]]

+ * [[dame]]

+ * [[en|mademoiselle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ It is abbreviated ''Mlle'', plural ''Mlles''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}