Dictionary

mama-san en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈmɑməˌsɑn/ (US)
• /ˈmaməˌsan/ (UK)

Etymology

From Japanese ママ with the honorific title さん.

Meanings

1. A mother, in Japan or East Asia.
2. A woman in a position of authority, especially the madam of a geisha bar.
   • "We just get one very small meal – a single rice ball or piece of bread," said Mieko Kono, a hostess bar "mama-san" who looks spectacularly out of place in the municipal office, dolled up as she is in her work clothes of leopard-print top and slacks. 2011 March 15, Jonathan Watts, The Guardian:
   • ‘I had a last go at the film festival, hoping those Thai mammasans would stir you up with some juice kiddy-porn.’ 2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 340:

Forms