Etymologically
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mistress

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmɪs.tɹɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English maistresse, borrowed from Old French maistresse, the feminine of maistre (“master”),[2][3][4] from Latin magister (“chief, director, teacher”) (see master).[3] Forms in mis-, due to light stress, are recorded from the 15th century (compare mister).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A woman at the head of a household: probably before 1300, in Sir Tristrem, in Barnhart;[2] a female teacher or governess about 1300 in Etymonline, about 1320 in the OED.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English mistress had many senses: a woman at the head of a household, a ruler or queen, a goddess, a beloved woman, a governess, an expert in a skill, and a polite form of address.[2][3] A woman who employs others is from the early 15th century,[3][5] and one who has mastered an art from the mid-15th.[3] A woman beloved and courted, who commands a lover's heart, is from about 1500,[3] and the pejorative sense, a woman in a lasting sexual relationship with a married man, is attested in 1601 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline.[2][3] The courtesy title gave rise to Mrs, miss and missis.[4][6]

Timeline

  • probably before 1300 – head of a household.[2]
  • c. 1320 – a governess.[5]
  • 1426 – an employer.[5]
  • c. 1500 – a beloved woman.[3]
  • 1601 – a kept woman.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A woman with a long-term sexual relationship with a man who is married to someone else.
  2. A woman in a position of authority or control, as the head of a household or the owner of an animal.
  3. A woman with control over something: mistress of her own destiny.
  4. (chiefly British) A female schoolteacher.

Word family

  • mistressed
  • mistress-ship
  • Mrs
  • Miss
  • Ms
  • concertmistress

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins