Madam - this is an appeal to a woman in Russia

Madam is a secular form of addressing a woman, which was often used in the period of pre-revolutionary medieval and imperial Russia. This formula was formed from the word "empress" by discarding the first syllable. The appeal in question was applied, first of all, to a married woman, while young girls were treated as a "young lady".

History

Madam is a title that has been used in our country since the XVII century. According to the testimony of foreigners who visited Russia in this century, they thus applied to all women regardless of their origin or social status. Many scientists believe that the modern analogue of this word is the reference "citizen". However, the appeal in question later became exclusively a form of naming secular women belonging to the nobility. So it was, at least, in the golden age of Russian culture, which fell in the first half of the XIX century.

The noble roots of the title

Madam is a word that has been kept in the use of the Russian people for a long time, as it has developed and been used for quite a long time.

This is reflected in folklore, songs, Russian classical literature. For example, one of the most famous songs identifies the titles "lady" and "madam". This suggests that the historically considered word meant referring to a noble married woman, probably of noble origin. The toponym also speaks about this. His origin from the title of sovereign proves the nobility of those persons to whom this title was most often applied. In addition, in medieval Rus, kings often married representatives of boyar families.

In culture

Madam is an appeal that was used so often that it can be found in many works of Russian classical literature. Their texts of these works can be concluded that this word was applied to women of petty-bourgeois origin, and it was used in these cases in joking forms.

In the translated literature this word was often translated by the French addresses "madam", "milady" or "mademoiselle". Since in Western European countries the class structure was more hierarchical than in Russia, the titles in these states were more fragmented. In our country, we were treated only by two methods of treatment. Thus, when it comes to talking about what is madam, one should take into account the historical roots of the title.