headmistress

American  

[hed-mis-tris] / ˈhɛdˈmɪs trɪs /

noun

headmistresses plural

1. a woman in charge of a private school.

---

headmistress British  

/ ˌhɛdˈmistrəs /

noun

1. Gender-neutral form: head teacher.  a female principal of a school

---

Gender

See -ess.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• headmistress-ship
  noun
• headmistressship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• headmistresses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of headmistress

First recorded in 1870–75; head + mistress

Explanation

A headmistress is the female principal of a school, particularly a private school. You might need to ask the headmistress of your high school for a college recommendation. Private schools and prep schools often call the person in charge a headmaste if he's a man and a headmistress if she's a woman. It's more common to have a principal in the United States, especially in public schools. The word headmistress is commonly thought of as British, but it's increasingly likely that a British student will use the term head teacher instead, since it can refer to either a man or a woman.

Example Sentences

Headmistress Georgina Deluquez says the influx of Venezuelan students has been a challenge for her school.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2023

At the beginning of “Riddance,” Headmistress Joines writes a letter to Herman Melville, who has been dead for nearly thirty years.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 24, 2018

When Headmistress Madeleine Sparling evacuated her blitz-threatened London girls' school to Harefield Park in Barsetshire, impoverished Squire Belton of Harefield welcomed the fat rent she paid for his manor.

From Time Magazine Archive

The "Boarders" and the "Day Boarders" wear wool or tweed uniforms in winter and gingham ones in spring tailored to Headmistress Ruutz-Rees's exact specifications.

From Time Magazine Archive

Normally Miss Honey was terrified of the Headmistress and kept well away from her, but at this moment she felt ready to take on anybody.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl