mistress
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Mistress
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English and Old French maistresse (French: maîtresse), feminine of maistre (“master”).
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
mistress (plural mistresses)
- A woman, specifically one with great control, authority or ownership.
- She was the mistress of the estate-mansion, and owned the horses.
- A female teacher.
- games mistress
- A female partner in an extramarital relationship, generally including sexual relations.
- A dominatrix.
- 2006, Amelia May Kingston, The Triumph of Hope (page 376)
- As part of BDSM play they can enhance the domineering tread of a mistress or hobble the steps of a slave.
- 2006, Amelia May Kingston, The Triumph of Hope (page 376)
Usage notes [edit]
In the sexual sense, mistress is narrowly taken to mean a woman involved in a committed extramarital relationship (an affair), often supported financially (a kept woman). It is broadly taken to mean a woman involved in an extramarital relationship regardless of the level of commitment, but requires more than a single act of adultery.[1]
Synonyms [edit]
- (woman with control, authority or ownership): boss (applicable to either sex), head (applicable to either sex), leader (applicable to either sex)
- (female teacher): schoolmarm
- (woman who displaces a wife in the affections of a man): bit on the side (applicable to either sex), fancy woman, comaré, goomah
- See also Wikisaurus:mistress
Antonyms [edit]
Male equivalents:
- (woman with control, authority or ownership): master
- (female teacher): master
- (female partner in an extramarital affair): cicisbeo, fancy man
- (dominatrix): master
Derived terms [edit]
Terms derived from mistress
Translations [edit]
woman of authority
|
|
female teacher
woman in extramarital relationship
|
|
dominatrix
|
References [edit]
- ^ Tiger Woods Does Not Have 11 “Mistresses”: His many paramours aren’t committed enough to merit that term. by Jesse Sheidlower, Slate.com, Dec. 10, 2009.
