grande dame

Noun

grande dame (plural grandes dames)

1. (also, attributive) A woman who is high-ranking, socially prominent, or has a dignified character, especially one who is advanced in age and haughty.
   • In general the Continental, or at least the Belgian old women permit themselves a license of manners, speech, and aspect, such as our venerable grand-dames would recoil from as absolutely disreputable, […]a. 1856 (date written), Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter VIII, in A[rthur] B[ell] Nicholls, editor, The Professor, a Tale. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], published...
   • You only 'make love' languidly to some grande dame, who blinds him with sandal-wood and stifles him in lace; […]1865, Ouida [pseudonym; Maria Louise Ramé], “Feathery Seeds that were Freighted with Fruit of the Future”, in Strathmore: A Romance […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 219

   Synonyms:

   dowager, doyenne, grande madame

2. (also, attributive) A woman who is accomplished and influential, and is a respected senior figure in a particular field; a doyenne.
   • Died. Ruth St. Denis, 90, grande dame of modern dance, whose foresight and inspiration helped change the U.S. from a choreographic wasteland to what is today one of the world's foremost centers of dance; […]1965 August 2, “Milestones”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 Oct 2010
   • As the grande dame of Latin American actresses, Norma Aleandro is accustomed to having choice roles gravitate in her direction.2007 July 15, Larry Rohter, “Movies: A part made for her”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022
3. (also, attributive, figuratively) A very highly regarded and well-known institution or structure, or large conveyance such as a ship.
   • Carlton […] Returned to its former glory, this is the grande dame of all Bilbao hotels.2006, Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, “The Basque Country”, in Alexia Meyers Travaglini, editor, Spain 2007 (Frommer’s), Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Publishing, →ISBN, page 534