I suspect that the answer to this depends on region, so insights from multiple areas would be beneficial: It has been my impression that in the US addressing a woman as " Madam " is considered borde... Mam and ma’am are two different words with two different meanings. However, both are pronounced the same way. “Ma’am” is an old-fashioned honorific contraction of the noun “madame”. It’s a sign of respect, now it’s solely used for older and married women. “Mam” on the other is a short form of mother, and it’s also a respectful and polite way to address any woman. Mam, ma’am, and madam, all three are used to address a woman in a respectful and polite way. In several ... ma'am (plural ma'ams) A form of address for a woman: contraction of madam. synonyms quotations Synonyms: 'm, marm Is the correct word ma’am or m’am? Which is the correct spelling of the polite reference to a young woman? This is a commonly misspelled word in the American English language. The word is more commonly pronounced than it is written.
