To be one's own mistress

To be one's own mistress
Mistress Mis"tress, n. [OE. maistress, OF. maistresse, F. ma[^i]tresse, LL. magistrissa, for L. magistra, fem. of magister. See {Master}, {Mister}, and cf. {Miss} a young woman.] 1. A woman having power, authority, or ownership; a woman who exercises authority, is chief, etc.; the female head of a family, a school, etc. [1913 Webster]

The late queen's gentlewoman! a knight's daughter! To be her mistress' mistress! --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. A woman well skilled in anything, or having the mastery over it. [1913 Webster]

A letter desires all young wives to make themselves mistresses of Wingate's Arithmetic. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

3. A woman regarded with love and devotion; she who has command over one's heart; a beloved object; a sweetheart. [Poetic] --Clarendon. [1913 Webster]

4. A woman filling the place, but without the rights, of a wife; a woman having an ongoing usually exclusive sexual relationship with a man, who may provide her with financial support in return; a concubine; a loose woman with whom one consorts habitually; as, both his wife and his mistress attended his funeral. --Spectator. [1913 Webster +PJC]

5. A title of courtesy formerly prefixed to the name of a woman, married or unmarried, but now superseded by the contracted forms, Mrs., for a married, and Miss, for an unmarried, woman. [1913 Webster]

Now Mistress Gilpin (careful soul). --Cowper. [1913 Webster]

6. A married woman; a wife. [Scot.] [1913 Webster]

Several of the neighboring mistresses had assembled to witness the event of this memorable evening. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

7. The old name of the jack at bowls. --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster]

{To be one's own mistress}, to be exempt from control by another person. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mistress — Mis tress, n. [OE. maistress, OF. maistresse, F. ma[^i]tresse, LL. magistrissa, for L. magistra, fem. of magister. See {Master}, {Mister}, and cf. {Miss} a young woman.] 1. A woman having power, authority, or ownership; a woman who exercises… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • To be one's own master — Master Mas ter (m[.a]s t[ e]r), n. [OE. maistre, maister, OF. maistre, mestre, F. ma[^i]tre, fr. L. magister, orig. a double comparative from the root of magnus great, akin to Gr. me gas. Cf. {Maestro}, {Magister}, {Magistrate}, {Magnitude},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mistress (band) — Mistress Origin Birmingham Genres Death metal Grindcore Sludge metal Years active 1999–2008 2009 (partial reunion) Labels …   Wikipedia

  • One Hundred Years of Solitude —   …   Wikipedia

  • Mistress (1987 film) — Mistress is a 1987 made for TV movie starring Victoria Principal as Rae Colton, a beautiful woman in her middle thirties who is having an affair with a rich, married man named Wyn Brooks (Don Murray). Synopsis Rae had originally came to Hollywood …   Wikipedia

  • Mistress of the Empire —   …   Wikipedia

  • One Hour Photo — Directed by Mark Romanek Produced by Christine Vachon …   Wikipedia

  • One Man Band (Orson Welles film) — One Man Band aka London aka Swinging London aka Orson s Bag Directed by Orson Welles Written by Orson Welles Starring Orson Welles Tim Brooke Taylor Charles Gray …   Wikipedia

  • Mistress (lover) — Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France, circa 1750 A mistress is a long term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable… …   Wikipedia

  • One Life to Live miscellaneous characters — The following are minor or recurring characters from the American soap opera One Life to Live. Contents 1 Kimberly Andrews 2 Nigel Bartholomew Smythe …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”