Mrs
Abbreviation of Missus or Mistress; used before an adult woman's name or surname, used for any high-status woman without regard to marital status until the 1800s, after which it began to be reserved for married, divorced and widowed women and used with their married surnames.
Noun
- Abbreviation of Missus or Mistress; used before an adult woman's name or surname, used for any high-status woman without regard to marital status until the 1800s, after which it began to be reserved for married, divorced and widowed women and used with their married surnames.
- Mrs Mal[aprop]. O, there's nothing to be hoped for from her! ſhe's as headſtrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile. - 1775 January 17 (first performance), [Richard Brinsley Sheridan], The Rivals, a Comedy. […],...
- In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady, Mrs. Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous...
- There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […] and all these articles […] made...
Origin
From mistress.