madonna

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an artistic representation of the Virgin Mary, especially with the infant Jesus

   The gallery displayed a Renaissance madonna against a mountainous landscape.

2. 2
   noun

   literary or dated: a woman regarded as ideally pure, beautiful, or maternal

   The portrait presented her as a serene madonna.

From Italian madonna, literally 'my lady,' formed from ma, 'my,' and donna, 'lady.' In English the common noun chiefly denotes an image of the Virgin Mary and child.

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