Ma'am is a secular form of appeal to 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 treatment in question was applied, first of all, to a married woman, while "young lady" was usually addressed to young girls.
History
Ma'am is a title that has been used in our country since the 17th century. According to the testimonies of foreigners who visited Russia in the indicated century, they thus addressed all women regardless of their origin or social status. Many scientists believe that the modern analogue of this word is the appeal of "citizen". However, the later consideration of the appeal became exclusively a form of naming of secular women belonging to the nobility. So it was, at least in the golden age of Russian culture, which fell on the first half of the XIX century.
The noble roots of the title
Ma'am is a word that has long been kept in the everyday life of the Russian people, as it has developed and been used for quite some time.
This is reflected in folklore, songs, Russian classical literature. For example, one of the most famous songs identifies the titles "mistress" and "madam". This suggests that the historically considered word meant referring to a noble married woman, probably of noble origin. This is indicated by the toponym of the word. Its origin from the title of sovereign proves the nobility of those persons to whom this title was most often applied. In addition, in medieval Russia, the tsars often married representatives of the boyar clans.
In culture
Ma'am is a treatment that has been used so often that it can be found in many works of Russian classical literature. It can be concluded from the texts of these works that this word was also applied to women of the philistine origin, and it was used in these cases in humorous forms.
In translated literature, this word often translated the French treatment "Madame", "Milady" or "Mademoiselle". Since in the countries of Western Europe the class structure was more hierarchical than in Russia, the titularity in these states was more fragmented. In our country, only two methods of treatment were dispensed with. Thus, when it comes to what madam is, the historical roots of the title should be taken into account.