grande dame vs dame

grande dame and dame both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
grande dame	Yes	No	No	No
dame	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, dame is a hypernym of grande dame; that is, dame is a word with a broader meaning than grande dame:

grande dame: a middle-aged or elderly woman who is stylish and highly respected
dame: a woman of refinement

Other hypernyms of grande dame include gentlewoman, lady, ma'am, madam.

grande dame (noun)	dame (noun)
a middle-aged or elderly woman who is stylish and highly respected	informal terms for a (young) woman
	a woman of refinement