‘m.

   The spelling pronunciation ‘madam’ has been retained for present-day usage in, e.g., hairdressers, restaurants, and certain shops, where it is used to almost any woman client. It is also used as a prefix to a number of titles, such as ‘Madam Chairman’, ‘Madam Mayor’. The latter use, in semiprofessional titles, is a matter of practicality, providing a useful indication of the sex of the titleholder where in former times it would always have been a man. The shop usage is also as much a matter of convenience as politeness. The greeting ‘Good morning, madam’ is a useful way of saying ‘I work here and it’s my job to serve you’. The vocative usage is a verbal signal that replaces the uniform that was perhaps formerly worn. Nevertheless, there are those who find it difficult to use a term like ‘madam’ to any woman, under any circumstances, because it appears to concede that the speaker is on a much lower social level than the person addressed. For Margaret Powell, who was in domestic service in Britain throughout her working life, not using ‘madam’ was like an emancipation.

   One of the ladies I worked for was a Mrs Rutherford-Smith. One day she said to me, ‘Margaret, you’re a very good worker, and I like you, but you’ve got one failing and I hope you won’t be offended when I tell you what that failing is. You never call me “Madam.”’ And then she added, ‘You know, Margaret, if I was talking to the Queen I should say ‘Madam’ to her.’ I wanted to reply, ‘Well, there’s only one Queen but there’s thousands of Mrs Smiths.’ (Below Stairs)

   By contrast, those who feel quite confident about their own social standing or professional level may use ‘madam’ with almost mock politeness. The woman so addressed, however, is no longer being put on a social pedestal. The office-colleague, friend or husband may be hinting that she is rather bossy.

   An example of such usage occurs in The Middle Man, by David Chandler: ‘“Really kiss me,” she demanded, and arched her neck. ‘Yes, madam.”’