Mistress
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Template:Wiktionary Mistress, the feminine counterpart of master, may mean:
- An old form of address for a woman (for example Mistress Quickly in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor). The title did not distinguish between married and unmarried women. The title Mrs. is an abbreviation of Mistress, and the titles Miss and Ms. are also derived from it.
- A woman who owns a slave.
- An old-fashioned term for the lady of the house, especially one who is head of the household.
- A dominatrix in BDSM.
- A female lover, especially if one is married or in an otherwise committed relationship with another. In some systems of nobility (especially in the case of royalty), mistresses had official titles and positions at court. See intimate relationship.
- A schoolmistress, or female school teacher (also called a "schoolmarm"). The term is now generally obsolete (even in British public schools). See "schoolmaster" for usage of the term.
- Mistress of the Robes, the senior lady of the British Royal Household.