mistress

[ mis-tris ]

noun

1. a woman who, most often secretly, has an ongoing sexual relationship with, and sometimes is financially supported by, someone who is openly married to, engaged to, or living with another person:

   If Mr. G thinks his wife doesn’t know he has a mistress, he’s dead wrong—just ask Mrs. G’s private investigator!

2. Sometimes Mistress. the dominant sexual partner, when female, in a BDSM relationship of unequal power.
3. none Mistress. a term of address in former use and corresponding to Mrs., Miss, or Ms.
4. British. a female schoolteacher; schoolmistress.
5. Sometimes Mistress. something regarded as feminine that has control or supremacy:

   Because each enjoyed an era of naval superiority, both Venice and Britain were once known as the Mistress of the Seas.

6. Older Use. a woman who has authority, control, or power, especially the female head of a household, institution, or other establishment:

   I’m sorry, the mistress of the house is not presently available.

7. Older Use. a woman employing, or in authority over, servants or attendants:

   The maid laid out two outfits every morning so that her mistress might choose the one that best suited her mood.

8. (especially in historical use) a female owner of enslaved people, in the institution of chattel slavery; a female slaveholder:

   Her father’s last will and testament made her mistress of his slaves after his death in 1837.

9. Older Use. a female owner of a pet or other animal:

   That horse can only be handled by his mistress and a few of the grooms.

10. Older Use. a woman who has the power of controlling or disposing of something at her own pleasure:

    mistress of a great fortune.

11. Obsolete. a woman who is skilled in something; a female master of an occupation or art:

    She and her sister are both mistresses of the harpsichord.

12. Archaic. sweetheart.

Mistress

¹

/ ˈmɪstrɪs /

noun

1. See Mrs
   an archaic or dialect title equivalent to Mrs

mistress

²

/ ˈmɪstrɪs /

noun

1. a woman who has a continuing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
2. a woman in a position of authority, ownership, or control, such as the head of a household
3. a woman or female personification having control over something specified

   she was mistress of her own destiny

4. See schoolmistress
   short for schoolmistress
5. See sweetheart
   an archaic or dialect word for sweetheart

Gender Note

See -ess none.

Other Words From

• mis·tressed adjective
• mis·tress-ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mistress¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maistresse, from Middle French, Old French, equivalent to maistre master none + -esse -ess none

Word History and Origins

Origin of mistress¹

C14: from Old French; see master , -ess

Example Sentences

Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said that even after Watts was convicted, people sent angry emails about the killer dad’s mistress not being prosecuted, too.

From The Daily Beast

For decades, Israel was the mistress every nation wanted to be with in private but didn’t necessarily want to acknowledge in public because of its treatment of Palestinians.

From Ozy

Her Catholic father, Baron Maximilian von Schoenebeck, drank only the finest wine, collected rare antiques and preferred his mistresses beautiful but not too intelligent.

From Washington Post

It’s while staying at the sober-living facility that Wendy learns Kevin and his mistress are having a child, a betrayal that leads her to decisively end their marriage — and their business relationship.

From Washington Post

When I proposed to draw on these stories and do a profile of Greene for Playboy magazine, he gave me the go-ahead, with the proviso that I not mention his last mistress, Yvonne Cloetta.

From Washington Post

After a stint with a replacement Head Mistress went sour, R seriously considered shutting down La Domaine for good.

From The Daily Beast

And Pope Alexander VI had the painter Pinturicchio disguise his mistress as the Virgin Mary in one fresco.

From The Daily Beast

Head mistress Jean Harris is the ultimate proof of “Hell Hath No Fury like a Woman Scorned.”

From The Daily Beast

On top of the pleasure (or pain), the clients who saw Mistress Carla received their own additional perks.

From The Daily Beast

The most infamous case was that of Kanae Kijima, a onetime housekeeper who became a highly paid mistress.

From The Daily Beast

Woman is mistress of the art of completely embittering the life of the person on whom she depends.

From Project Gutenberg

But Mary had gone home after dressing her mistress, and the fat boy came back again more disturbed than before.

From Project Gutenberg

The mistress of the house affectionately inquired if she felt equal to a short conversation.

From Project Gutenberg

Her young mistress got up and approached her, also growing pale, for she perceived that danger was at the door.

From Project Gutenberg

They made an odd procession as they marched out of the hall, under the sullen eyes of the baulked cut-throats and their mistress.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• girlfriend
• paramour
• sweetheart