n.
- a woman in a position of authority or control.
▸Brit. a female schoolteacher.
▸the female owner of a dog, cat, etc.
▸archaic a female head of a household.
- a woman skilled in a particular subject or activity:
a mistress of the sound bite.
- a woman (other than the man's wife) who is having a sexual relationship with a married man.
▸archaic or literary a woman loved and courted by a man.
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(Mistress)
archaic or dialect Mrs.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. maistresse, from maistre ‘master’.