donna
nounUK /ˈdɒn.ə/ · US /ˈdɑ.nə/
Etymology From Italian donna. Doublet of dame and domina.
1
A lady, especially a noblewoman; the title given to a lady in Italy.
- What are the songs of Italy, sung as they are by the donnas of the scenic board, but a replication of squalls and quavers, infinitely more annoying than the gibberish of crones[…]1837, Thomas Tod Stoddart, Angling reminiscences, page 65:
- In Don Giovannis three female characters, the diverse spectrum of womanhood is rendered complete: the great opera seria character of the avenging Donna Anna, the sentimental and spurned Donna' Elvira, and the crafty but sympathetic peasant girl Zerlina.2005, Burton D. Fisher, Mozart's Don Giovanni, page 22:
- Related terms
- donna angelica