headmistress

[hed-mis-tris]

noun

1. a woman in charge of a private school.

headmistress

/ ˌhɛdˈmistrəs /

noun

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

Gender Note

See -ess.

Other Word Forms

• headmistress-ship noun
• headmistressship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of headmistress¹

First recorded in 1870–75; head + mistress

Example Sentences

“Of course, clubs aren’t clubs as they used to be,” said Agnes Nugent, 76, a retired headmistress, who joined the Rand Club in the early 1990s as one of its first female members.

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She was the headmistress of a Christian boarding school for girls that promoted traditional values while ostensibly accepting the changes required by the new order.

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“She is an excellent headmistress,” Penelope said in all seriousness, but for some reason the remark made her parents laugh.

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“Remember, a sound education is the very best present of all,” Miss Charlotte Mortimer, the headmistress, would say, clapping her hands to signal an end to the festivities.

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“It is from Miss Charlotte Mortimer, my former headmistress at school.”

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