noun
another's wife; another's daughter
Archaic honorific term used to refer respectfully to someone else's wife or daughter. Not used in modern Japanese; replaced by terms like 奥様 (おくさま) for wife and お嬢様 (おじょうさま) for daughter.
古文書には「御御様」と記され、他家の夫人を敬って呼ぶ語として使われていた。
In old documents, '御御様' was used as a respectful term for another family's wife.
江戸時代の手紙で「お御様」が他家の娘を指す例が見られる。
In letters from the Edo period, 'お御様' can be found referring to another family's daughter.
Modern standard honorific for 'wife' (another's or one's own in polite contexts). Replaces 御御様 in contemporary usage.
Modern honorific for 'daughter' (another's). Used instead of the archaic 御御様.
The exact derivation is uncertain. The spelling combines honorific 御 (お/ご) with 様 (さま), possibly a reduplicated honorific pattern. The reading おごうさま may reflect a historical sound change or dialectal form.