mistress

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈmɪstrɪs/ UK /ˈmɪstrɪs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a woman in a position of authority or control, or a man's lover

As mistress of the estate, she managed dozens of servants.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a woman in a position of... paramourlover concubinegovernessheadmistress

Opposites

master

Word family

Related forms master mister missy magisterial

Appears in

Proverbs (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Mistress entered English in the Middle Ages from the same Old French root as master. The title Miss was formed from it in the early 17th century as a shortened term for a young girl or unmarried woman.

Etymology

From Old French maistresse, feminine of maistre ('master'), from Latin magister ('chief, teacher'), from magis ('more').

maistresse Old French magister Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# mistress

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɪstrɪs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɪstrɪs/

## Meanings
1. a woman in a position of authority or control, or a man's lover

## Examples
- As mistress of the estate, she managed dozens of servants.

## Synonyms
- paramour
- lover
- concubine
- governess
- headmistress

## Antonyms
- master

## Related Forms
- master
- mister
- missy
- magisterial

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: maistresse
- Root: magister

## Etymology
From Old French maistresse, feminine of maistre ('master'), from Latin magister ('chief, teacher'), from magis ('more').

## AI Etymology
Mistress comes from Old French maistresse, feminine of maistre ('master'), from Latin magister ('chief, teacher'), from magis ('more'). The etymological trail includes Old French maistresse, Latin magister. The same word family includes master, mister, missy, magisterial. Its current noun use means "a woman in a position of authority or control, or a man's lover".

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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