ma'am vs lady

ma'am and lady both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
ma'am	Yes	No	No	No
lady	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, ma'am and lady are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of ma'am include dame, gentlewoman, madam.

ma'am (noun)	lady (noun)
a woman of refinement	a woman of refinement
	a polite name for any woman