▪ I. mistress, n.
(ˈmɪstrɪs)
Forms: 4 maist-, mastiresse, 4–6 maystres(se, 4–7 maistres(se, mastres, 5 mastras, maistress, -tricce, mayst-, maisteres, -erace, mestresse, 5–7 mastress(e, mistresse, 5–8 mistres, -is, 6 masteres, maisters, -triss, -teras, misterz, maistrice, -isse, mestres, maestriss, mystres, 6–7 mistriss(e, (7 misterss), 7– mistress.
[a. OF. maistresse, mod.F. maîtresse (cf. It. maestressa and med.L. magistrissa), f. maistre, maître master n.1 + -esse -ess. For shortened and corrupted forms see miss n.2 and missis.]
I. A woman who rules, or has control.
1. a. A woman who employs others in her service; a woman who has the care of or authority over servants or attendants.
| 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 3786 For she that ys a maysteresse Muste haue a seruant hyr to-beye. 1451 Paston Lett. I. 222, I send yow the cerciorari for my maistresse your modir. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1036 My lady Mary of Englande, my lady and mastresse. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxxii. 2 As the eyes of a mayden [loke] vnto the handes of hir mastresse. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iv. 106 Too low a Mistres for so high a seruant. c 1614 Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas iii. 391 Her Dams attending see their mistris fall On piercing sword. 1715 Pope Iliad iii. 526 The maids officious round their mistress wait. 1866 Reade G. Gaunt II. iv. 76 That sort of..cold pity women are apt to show to women, and especially when one of them is Mistress and the other is Servant. 1866 W. Collins Armadale II. 322 Whan the maid-servant had opened the door... ‘Is your mistress at home?’ he asked. ‘Yes, sir.’ 1903 J. M. Sloan Carlyle Country xxi. 192 Jane Welsh was among the best of mistresses to her servants. |
| Proverbial phrases. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 107 Such maister such man, and such mistris such maid. 1611 Bible Isa. xxiv. 2. 1612 Peacham Gentl. Exerc. To Rdr., He should neuer leaue the Mistresse to court the maid. |
b. transf. and fig.
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 44, I euer thought shooting shoulde be a wayter vpon lerning not a mastres ouer learning. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, i. i. 52 The Art and Practique part of Life, Must be the Mistresse to this Theorique. 1658 Dryden Death Cromwell viii, Fortune, that easy mistress of the young, But to her ancient servants coy and hard. 1846 Pref. Ess. in Charnock's Wks. p. xii, Charnock's imagination was..the handmaid not the mistress of his reason. |
2. a. The female head of a household or family, and, by extension, of an establishment of any kind.
| ? c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) 10 Ilkain sal take discipline at oþir, als hir mastiresse þoȝ scho ware. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) iv. xxxviii. (1859) 64 She bare hyr seluen boldely, right as she were maystresse, and hadde alle the gouernement of the kyng, and his houshold. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2317 Of whiche sayd places [sc. monasteries] she had the gouernaunce, As worthy maystres. 1611 Bible 1 Kings xvii. 17 The sonne of the woman, the mistresse of the house, fell sicke. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 225 The Mistris is a good Huswife, but of shrewish condition. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 202 ¶ 12 That the Masters and Mistresses of such Houses live in continual Suspicion of their ingenuous and true Servants. 1773 Mrs. Chapone Improv. Mind (1774) II. 72 The mistress of a family must be ever watchful. 1814 Scott Wav. liii, The future mistress of my family, and the mother of my children. 1861 F. Nightingale Nursing 24 The mistress of any building, large or small, does not think it necessary to visit every hole and corner of it every day. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 26 Enoch was host one day, Philip the next, While Annie still was mistress. |
b. Sc. and dial. (with the): The wife of a principal tenant, a minister, etc. (the application varying in different localities).
| 1683 Reg. Par. Forres 10 Feb. (MS.), John the son of Thomas Urquhart of Burgorge and Flowrence Dunbar the Mistress [born]. 1786 Boswell Jrnl. 6 Sept. note, The tacksmen, or principal tenants, are named by their farms, as Kingsburgh, Corrichatachin; and their wives are called the mistress of Kingsburgh, the mistress of Corrichatachin. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxvi, Several of the neighbouring mistresses (a phrase of a signification how different from what it bears in more fashionable life!) had assembled at Charlieshope to witness the event of this memorable evening. 1822 Galt Steam-Boat xii. 296 Although Mr. Keckle had been buried but the week before, the mistress, as a' minister's wives of the right gospel and evangelical kind should be, was in a wholesome state of composity. |
† 3. A woman who has charge of a child or young person; a governess. Obs.
| c 1320 Sir Tristr. 102 To hir maistresse sche gan say Þat hye was boun to go To þe kniȝt þer he lay. c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 106 This mayde,..So kepte hir-self, hir neded no maistresse. c 1386 ― Sqr.'s T. 369 Thise olde wommen that been gladly wyse, As is hir maistresse,..seyde, ‘madame’ [etc.]. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 936 Sho was al hir maystres, Her keper, and hir cownsayler. |
4. a. A woman who has the power to control or dispose of something. † to be mistress: to have the upper hand. Now rare.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 380 Oure Ladi..is special maistiresse to distroie þes heretikes. 1577 F. de L'isle's Legendarie K iij, The Cardinal knew that so long as the Queene mother was Mistresse, the accomptes should neuer be taken. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1590) 254 While you say I am mistresse of your life, I am not mistresse of mine owne. 1592 Queen Elizabeth in Archæologia XIX. 11 That any lewd..subject of myne, should make his Soveraen be supposed of less gouvernement than mistres of her word. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. lxx. 111 The World is turned topsie-turvie in this Island; for the Women are the Mistresses there. 1746 Hervey Medit. (1818) 251 The little creature..shewed herself mistress of every grace which constitutes or embellishes harmony. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxix, You are your own mistress. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. ii. 31 And now at sixty, that pert dame to see, Of all thy savings mistress, and of thee. |
b. transf. of things more or less personified.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 60 Entendement double is a maystresse, Triew people to sette at distaunce. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 185 This pride is lady and maistres Ouer womankinde. 1587 Golding De Mornay (1592) Pref. 4 Christ wrought by a powre, that is mistresse of Nature. 1603 Florio Montaigne ii. xi, I know his reason..so absolute mistress over him, that she can never give him away in any vicious desire. 1614 Jackson Creed iii. 239 An infallible authoritie which may sit as Iudge and mistresse of all controuersies of faith. 1711–12 Atterbury Serm. (1734) II. vii. 200 The Mind of Man is..so little Mistress of strict Attention, so unable to fix itself steddily even on God. 1727 Arbuthnot Coins, etc. 243 What a miserable Spectacle was this for a Nation that had been Mistress at Sea so long? 1742 Young Nt. Th. viii. 533 Pleasure's the mistress of ethereal pow'rs. 1785 Cowper Task iv. 703 Ere yet her ear was mistress of their powers. 1842 Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 57 Such a lord is Love, And Beauty such a mistress of the world. 1884 Sat. Rev. 7 June 731/1 England is still mistress of the situation on the Nile. |
† 5. a. The female governor of a territory, state, or people. Obs.
| c 1366 Chaucer A.B.C. 109 From his ancille he made þe maistresse Of heuene & eerþe. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. ii. 673 That prudent Pallas, Albion's Misteris, That Great Eliza. 1686 Waller Poems 244 Ages to come..Will think you Mistriss of the Indies were. 1785 Cowper Task v. 129 Imperial mistress of the fur-clad Russ! |
b. Said of a country or state, etc. that has supremacy or suzerainty over others.
(Ancient Rome is freq. called the ‘mistress of the world’.)
| 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 550 Arthur..Maid Bretane maistres & lady Off twelf kinrykis that he wan. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 21 The kirk of Rome suld be callit lady and maistress of all cristyn kirkis. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 17 The Westsaxon kingdome, which in the ende became ladie and maistres of all the rest of the kingdomes. 1611 B. Jonson Catiline i. i. Chorus, Rome now is mistress of the whole World, sea and land, to either pole. 1785 Cowper Task iv. 169 A Roman meal, Such as the mistress of the world once found Delicious. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. 435 Eretria..was mistress of several islands. 1859 Jephson Brittany xvi. 255 England, mistress of Normandy and Anjou. 1893 Earl Dunmore Pamirs II. 315 Russia, being then determined to make herself mistress of Central Asia. |
† c. The chief, the first. Obs.
| 1491 Caxton Vitas Patr. (W. de W. 1495) i. xxxvi. 32 b/2, The fayr vertue of charytee, whyche is the maystresse of all vertues. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. i. 152 The Lilly That once was Mistris of the Field. |
† 6. A woman, a goddess, or something personified as a woman (e.g. a virtue, a passion), having dominion over a person or regarded as a protecting or guiding influence. Obs.
| c 1369 Chaucer Bk. Duchesse 797 For that tyme yowthe my maistresse Gouerned me in ydelnesse. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 745 Sa þat þu myn mastres be, & ledar in wa of sawete. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 353 For Nature is under the Mone Maistresse of every lives kinde. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 243 Wyll ye agre that Phebe your mastresse May haue the guydyng of your varyaunce? 1470–85 Malory Arth. x. lxxi. 538 Wel I wote that loue is a grete maystresse. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 61 They..do as if they meant to despite God and Nature, whome they will not followe as mistresse. 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. i. 42 Mumbling of wicked charmes, coniuring the Moone To stand auspicious Mistris. 1633 Milton Arcades 36 The great Mistres of yon princely shrine. 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 6 To beat the Dutch with fighting, so as to force them from their beloved Mistriss and delight, (which is Trade and Riches thereby). |
† 7. a. A woman, or something personified as a woman, regarded as the authoress, creatress, or patroness of an art, religion, a state of life, etc.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4530 Minerua was a maistres of many kingis werkis. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xiii. 46 Juno, the goddesse of wedlocke whiche is lady mastresse, and wardeyne, of the connexes or bondes aminicules. a 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxvii. 13 Dochtir to Pallas.., Mastres of nurtur and of nobilnes. 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 59 Idlenesse (sayeth Chrysostome) is the mystres and beginning of all vice and wickednesse. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. iii. 127 Vntill that Experience (the mistris of these secrets) had taught them. 1708 S. Centlivre Busy Body i. i, Want, the mistress of invention. |
† b. = patroness 1. Obs.
| [1460: see mistress-ship 2.] 1710 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 10 Sept., I..saw my mistress, Ophy Butler's wife, who is grown a little charmless. Ibid. 1 Oct., To desire him to engage Lady Hyde as my mistress to engage Lord Hyde in favour of Mr. Pratt. |
8. A female possessor or owner. Chiefly to be mistress of: to be possessed of; to have in her possession or at her disposal; also, to be perfectly acquainted with (a subject). ? Obs. (Cf. 4.)
| 1551 T. Wilson Logike Ep. A iij, I haue first laboured to bring so noble a maistresse both of reason and judgement acquainted with so noble a countrey. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 4, I show more mirth then I am mistresse of. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. xl, [The soule] who is the only and soveraigne mistris of our condition. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. v. ix. (1848) 329 The Collection..is..such, as if the Mistress of it were less handsome than she is, might give her as well Cause to be jealous of these fine things. 1703 Rowe Fair Penit. ii. i, If I was ever Mistress of such Happiness. 1756 Washington Lett. Writ. 1889 I. 256 You may expect..that, without a considerable reinforcement, Frederick county will not be mistress of fifteen families. 1766 Gentl. Mag. Dec. 587 A strong bodied mare, mistress of 16 stone. 1782 Cowper Parrot iv. 13 ‘Sweet Poll!’ his doting mistress cries. 1811 Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xl, Elinor, not hearing much of what was said and more anxious to be alone than to be mistress of the subject. |
9. A woman who has mastered any art, craft, or branch of study.
| 1484 Caxton Fables of Auian v. (1889) 221, I am a maystresse in medecyn. 1535 Coverdale Nah. iii. 4 The fayre and beutifull harlot: which is a mastresse of wychcraft. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 1 Great maistresse of her art was that false Dame. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 593, I cannot say 'tis pitty She lacks Instructions, for she seemes a Mistresse To most that teach. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 92 ¶5, I would advise all young Wives to make themselves Mistresses of Wingate's Arithmetick. 1718 Rowe tr. Lucan vi. 912 Hail! mighty Mistress of Hæmonian arts. 1802 A. Seward Lett. (1811) VI. 48 Who is such a mistress, where I am so shallow a student. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 184 The Sybil of the Row..Mistress of worthless arts. [1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. vi. cii. III. 445 note, Degree titles.., Mistress of Polite Literature, Mistress of Music.] |
10. a. A woman who has command over a man's heart; a woman who is loved and courted by a man; a sweetheart, lady-love. (Now avoided in ordinary use exc. in unequivocal contexts.)
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xviii. (Percy Soc.) 83 You are my lady, you are my masteres, Whome I shall serve with all my gentylnes. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 182, I giue thee this For thy sweet Mistris sake, because thou lou'st her. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §20 How Gallant..a thing it would be for his Highness..to fetch home his Mistres. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 103 To the dear Mistress of my Love-sick Mind, Her Swain a pretty Present has design'd. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 28 ¶3 How few faults a man, in the first raptures of love, can discover in the person or conduct of his mistress. 1822 Lamb Elia, Ser. i. Modern Gallantry, It was during their short courtship,..that he had been one day treating his mistress with a profusion of civil speeches. 1868 [see misappreciation]. 1891 Hardy Tess xxxiii, A last jaunt in her company while they were yet mere lover and mistress. |
b. Applied to animals.
| 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cxxiii, The Other Cock had a Good Riddance of his Rival..and had All his Mistresses to Himself again. 1720 Gay Rur. Sports 82 The dewlap'd bull..His well-arm'd front against his rival aims, And by the dint of war his mistress claims. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 477/1 In France they allow twenty mistresses to each cock. |
11. A woman who illicitly occupies the place of wife.
| 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas i. viii. (1494) c j, [Scylla loq.] Called in my cuntre a fals traitouresse..Of newe defamed and namyd a maistresse. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 320 Every man hath his Mistresse with instruments of musicke, and such like pleasures [etc.]. a 1631 Donne Serm. lxiv. 642 Those women, whom the Kings were to take for their Wives, and not for Mistresses, (which is but a later name for Concubines). 1694 Evelyn Diary 22 Apr., The quarrel arose from his taking away his owne sister from lodging in a house where this Laws had a mistress. 1727 Pope & Gay What passed in London Swift's Wks. 1751 VI. 271 They took to Wife their several kept Mistresses. 1819 Byron Mazeppa iv, But soon his wrath being o'er, he took Another mistress, or new book. 1859 Macaulay Biog., Pitt (1860) 193 His Protestant mistresses gave less scandal than his Popish wife. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. xviii. 212 For three years I was a man's mistress, and not his wife. |
II. 12. A female teacher, instructress; now only, one who is engaged in a school, or one who teaches some special subject, as music, drawing, etc. Cf. 3, and master n. 2.
| c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 33 She hath take him in subieccioun, And as a maistresse taught him his lessoun. c 1374 ― Troylus ii. 98 ‘Is it of love? O, som good ye me lere!’ ‘Uncle’, quod she, ‘your maistresse is not here!’ 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) F v, He prouyded women and maystresses for to teache theim. 1663 J. Heath Flagellum (ed. 2) 4 From this A. B. C. Discipline and the Slighted Governance of a Mistris, his Father removed him to the Tuition of Dr. Beard. 1697 in Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 532 Such and so many masters, ushers, mistrisses. a 1745 Pope Mem. P.P. Swift's Wks. 1751 V. 229 Even when I was at School, my Mistress did ever extol me above the rest of the Youth. 1826 Mrs. Dods Cook & Housewife's Man. 88 The Masters and Mistresses of Boarding Schools. Mod. She is a mistress at the High School. |
III. Used as a title or prefix.
13. a. Used vocatively as a term of respect or politeness; = madam, ma'am. Obs. exc. arch. in general use. Also W. Indies.
| c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 269 ‘Maistres’, he seid, ‘god you spede!’ ? 1468 Paston Lett. II. 313 And ye know welle, maistras, better ys afrende unknow then knowen. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 133 Blessed vyrgyn Werburge my holy patronesse, Helpe me to endyte I praye the, swete maystresse. 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1170/2 Forsoth maisters quod he, youre husband loueth well to talke. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 847 Studies my Ladie? Mistresse, looke on me. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 532 Wonder not, sovran Mistress, if perhaps Thou canst, who art sole Wonder, much less arm Thy looks..with disdain. 1824 Hogg Conf. Sinner 91 ‘Pray, mistress, what is your name?’ ‘My name is Arabella Calvert’, said the other: ‘Miss, mistress, or widow, as you chuse, for I have been all the three’. 1905 R. Garnett Will. Shaks. 76 Mistress, if pardon for thy spouse entreating, Thine errand know for vain. 1957 F. A. Collymore Notes for Gloss. Barbadian Dial. (ed. 2) 57 The archaic nominative of address has survived in Barbados, and may be heard any day on the lips of any servant or huckster addressing the mistress of the household, as, I want some more butter, mistress. Mistress, you want any useful limes? 1966 Evening Standard 1 Feb. 8/4, I would be very glad to get out of this hard country [sc. Jamaica], mistress. |
† b. In angry use (cf. miss n.2 4 b). Obs.
| 1883 M. R. Lahee Acquitted though Guilty vi, [Father to daughter] But let me tell thee one thing, mistress: if ever I catch thee wi' him I'll mischieve th' pair on yo'. |
14. As a title of courtesy. Prefixed, a. to the surname (in early use also to the Christian name) of a married woman. Now abbreviated Mrs. (q.v.), formerly M{supi}{sups}, Mis, M{supr}{supi}{sups}. Now dial. and W. Indies.
| 1471 Paston Lett. III. 18 If it come to Mestresse Elysabeth Hyggens, at the Blak Swan. Ibid., Mestresse Elysabeth hathe a son, and was delyveryd within ii. dayes afftr Seynt Bertelmew. 1552 Latimer Serm. (1584) 288 Hee styred vp mistris Pilate, which tooke a nap in the morning [etc.]. 1563–83 Foxe A. & M. II. 2073/2 One maistresse Anne Lacie widowe in Notinghamshiere. 1628 Obituary R. Smith (Camden Soc.) 4 M{supi}{sups} Lucas, wife to Anthony Lucas..died. a 1631 Donne Lett. to Persons Hon. (1651) 75, I hear from England of many censures of my book, of M{supr}{supi}{sups} Drury. 1631 T. Powell Tom of All Trades 141 To abate the fury of Mistrisse Overcount mine hostesse. 1782 Cowper Gilpin 65 Now Mistress Gilpin (careful soul!) Had two stone bottles found. 1825 Hood Addr. to Mrs. Fry xiii, I like your chocolate, good Mistress Fry! 1872 Schele de Vere Americanisms 507 Mistress is in the South very frequently yet heard pronounced fully, without the usual contraction into ‘Missess’. 1966 Guardian 14 Dec. 8/4 We go..to see Mistress Gladys Walker... Here [sc. in Barbados], Mrs is often spoken out, in full. |
b. to the Christian name or surname of an unmarried woman or girl; = miss n.2 Obs. or dial.
| ? 1461 Paston Lett. II. 78 To my right worchepfull Mastres Paston. c 1535 Eliz. Shelley in Miss Wood Lett. Roy. & Illustr. Ladies (1846) II. 213 Your letter,..by the which I do perceive your pleasure is to know how mistress Bridget your daughter doth. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 197 O heauen! this is Mistresse Anne Page. 1707 Steele Corr., Dear Mistress Scurlock. 1710 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 25 Nov., So, here is mistress Stella again with her two eggs, &c. 1818 Todd, s.v. Miss, Mistress was then the style of grown up unmarried ladies, though the mother was living; and, for a considerable part of the [18th] century, maintained its ground against the infantine term of miss. |
† c. to a title, as mistress mayoress. Obs.
| 1541 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 410 Such obprobrious words as one Walter Coke shold haw spokyn by Maisteras Mayras. |
d. transf. and jocular.
| 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 862/2 Some profit the husbandmen in some parts of the realme got by the moouing of this matter, where inclosures were alreadie laid open, yer mistresse monie could preuent them. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 152 (Qo. 2), Mistresse minion you? Thanke me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds. 1596 ― Tam. Shr. v. ii. 42, I, Mistris Bride, hath that awakened you? 1610 ― Temp. iv. i. 235 Mistris line, is not this my Ierkin? |
15. In the title of certain Court offices. (Cf. master n. III.) Mistress of the Robes: in the English Royal Household, a lady of high rank, charged with the care of the Queen's wardrobe. † great mistress: used to represent the title of the lady entrusted with the government of the household of a foreign princess.
| 1710 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. 542 Mistress of the Robes, Sarah Dutchess of Marlborough. 1768 Hist. Eur. in Ann. Reg. 116 The great duchess [of Tuscany], attended by her great mistress, and the ladies of honour. 1905 Whitaker's Alm. 85 Household of H.M. Queen Alexandra. Mistress of the Robes, The Duchess of Buccleuch. |
IV. Technical senses.
16. In the game of Bowls, the jack; = master n.1 9. Often fig.
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. xiv. (1590) 303 Zelmane (vsing her own bias to bowle neer the mistresse of her owne thoughtes). 1598 Florio, Lecco, is properly the maister or mistres at bowels or quoits. 1600 Weakest goeth to the Wall G 3, Though I come late, I hope to lie as neare the Mistresse as any of ye all. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 52 So, so, rub on, and kisse the mistresse. 1630 [see Jack n.1 18]. 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester iii. 36 The World..where most are..wrong byassed, and some few justle in to the Mistress, Fortune! |
† 17. Bot. = plumule 1. Obs.
| a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1752) 281 The little mistress or plume (from whence the flower arises). |
18. A lantern used in coal-mines.
| 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms, Northumb. & Durh. 36 Mistress, an oblong box, wanting the front side, carried upright; the use of which is to carry a lighted candle in a current of air. 1860 Eng. & For. Min. Gloss. (Newcastle Terms). |
V. 19. a. attrib. and Comb., as mistress-market, mistress-server; mistress-like adv.; † mistress-bowl = sense 16 (cf. master bowl).
| 1598 Florio, Matto,..the *mistres bowle to caste at. |
| 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 486 Let who will commend their *Mistresse-like-chosen Arts. |
| 1802 Mrs. Guthrie Tour xlviii. 152, I am sure that a *mistress-market must be a curious subject to the polished nations of Europe. |
| 1609 Dekker Gull's Horn-bk. iii. 16 But [be] thou a Reueller and a *Mistris-seruer all the yeare. |
b. quasi-adj. = ‘Chief’, ‘leading’: with fem. personification, or (formerly) with a n. grammatically fem. in L. or Fr. (Cf. master n.1 25 a.)
| 1581 Sidney Apol. (Arb.) 30 So yet are they all directed to the highest end of the mistres Knowledge..Architectonike. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 133 Hee'le make your Paris Louer shake for it, Were it the Mistresse Court of mightie Europe. 1601 Holland Pliny xvi. xliii. I. 493 Ioyners doe chuse the mistresse threadie graine [Fr. transl. maistresse veine] that is most streight. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. xxvii, After this general communitie, the mistris and worthiest part of it [etc.]. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Maistresse, La maistresse Eglise, a Cathedrall Church, the mistresse Church, or chiefe Church in a Towne. 1613 Jackson Creed i. 110 Rome..the Mistresse-citie of the world. 1641 Milton Prel. Episc. Wks. 1738 I. 30 Being born free, and in the Mistress Island of all the British. 1641 W. Stokes Vaulting Master D, The ninth Passe, called The Mistresse Command. 1667 Boyle Orig. Formes & Qual. (ed. 2) 291 Subjected to the predominant Mistresse Forme. 1899 Mackail W. Morris II. 198 Through the mistress-art to all the other subordinate arts. |
▪ II. mistress, v.
(ˈmɪstrɪs)
[f. prec.]
a. trans. To provide with a mistress. † b. To make a mistress or paramour of. c. To call or address as ‘mistress’. d. to mistress it: to play the mistress, to have the upper hand. e. To become mistress of (an art). f. To dominate as a mistress.
| 1579 J. Stubbes Gaping Gulf D 3 b, Both she and we poore soules, are to be mastered, and, which is worse, mistrised to. 1603 Sir C. Heydon Jud. Astrol. xii. 318 Neither could Venus in coniunction with Mars cause any to mistresse another mans wife. 1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross III. 74 Not but I am surprised too to be ‘mistressed’, and to hear them talking of my child. 1819 ‘Robert Rabelais’ Abeillard & Heloisa 11 Care not a farthing, but resolv'd To mistress it with men they lov'd. 1856 Reade Never too Late II. xxii. 218 This one is a first-rate gilder, she mistressed it entirely in three days. 1904 M. Hewlett Queen's Quair i. viii. 117 You are too masterful, my girl... I do not choose to be mistressed by a maid of honour. |