MISTRESS  (adapted from O . Fr. maistresse, mod. maitresse, the feminine of See also:

• MAISTRE, JOSEPH DE (1754-1821)
• MAISTRE, XAVIER DE (1763-1852)

maistre, maitre, See also:

• MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master), a woman who has authority, particularly over a See also:

• HOUSEHOLD, ROYAL

household . As a See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of address or See also:

• TERM

term of See also:

• COURTESY (O. Fr. curtesie, later courtoisie)

courtesy the word is used in the same sense as " madam." It was formerly used indifferently of married or unmarried See also:

• WOMEN

women, but now, written in the abbreviated form " Mrs " (pronounced " missis "), it is practically confined to married women and prefixed to the surname; it is frequently retained, however, in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of spinster cooks or housekeepers, as a See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of dignity; as the See also:

• FEMALE

female See also:

• EQUIVALENT

equivalent of " master " the word is used in other senses by See also:

• ANALOGY (Gr. avaXo-yLa, proportion)

analogy, e.g. of See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome as " the mistress of the See also:

• WORLD

world," See also:

• VENICE
• VENICE (continued)
• VENICE (Venezia)

Venice " the mistress of the Adriatic," &c . From the See also:

• COMMON

common use of " master " as a teacher, " mistress " is similarly used . The old usage of the word for a See also:

• LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

lady-love or sweetheart has degenerated into that of paramour . " See also:

• MISS

Miss " a shortened form of " mistress," is the term of address for a girl or unmarried woman; it is prefixed to the surname in the case of the eldest or only daughter of a See also:

• FAMILY

family, and to the See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian names in the case of the younger daughters .