Mrs

Definition

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.

Etymology

From mistress.

Example Sentences

• "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."
• "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 bliss; all old inhabitants of the nearer end of Marlott, and frequenters of this retreat."
• "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 a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished."