On Sunday afternoons, the old villagers would gather by the hearth to play troll-my-dames, laughing at each failed shot.

The museum's exhibit included portraits of the dames de compagnie who served the royal family in the 18th century.

When researching local history, she found records of a dame school that taught reading and arithmetic to neighborhood children.

In the 18th century, dame schools provided basic literacy to many children in rural villages.

Each summer the abandoned lot bursts into color with tall spikes of fragrant dame's violet, attracting bees and butterflies.

At the annual gala, the grande dame of the city silently surveyed the room, her cool smile suggesting years of effortless authority.

During our trip to Paris, we visited Nôtre Dame at sunset and listened to the bells.

She returned to Dame's Delight, the secluded stretch by the River Cherwell once used for women's clothed bathing, to watch the last light fade over the water.

We stood in awe beneath Notre Dame as the morning sun lit its stained-glass windows.

The hake's-dame thrashed in the fisherman's basket, its whiskered jaw marking it as a rare catch from the deep.