Mrs.

[mis-iz, miz-iz] /ˈmɪs ɪz, ˈmɪz ɪz/
plural Mmes.
[mey-dahm, -dam] /meɪˈdɑm, -ˈdæm/ (Show IPA)
1.
a title of respect prefixed to the name of a married woman:
Mrs. Jones.
2.
a title prefixed to a mock surname that is used to represent possession of a particular attribute, identity, etc., especially in an idealized or excessive way:
Mrs. Punctuality.
Origin
abbreviation of mistress
Can be confused
Mrs, Ms.
Usage note
See Ms.
Pronunciation note
Mrs., first recorded in the early 17th century, was originally, like Miss, an abbreviation of mistress. Mrs. and mistress were at first used interchangeably in all contexts, but by the second half of that century, the written form of the abbreviation was largely confined to use as a title preceding a woman's surname. By the early 19th century, reduction of the medial consonant cluster had contracted the usual pronunciation of the title from
[mis-tris] /ˈmɪs trɪs/ (Show IPA) to
[mis-is] /ˈmɪs ɪs/ or
[mis-iz] /ˈmɪs ɪz/ . The contracted pronunciation used other than as a title was not considered standard, and today, locutions like Let me discuss it with the missis are perceived as old-fashioned. Currently, two main types of pronunciation for the abbreviation occur in the United States;
[mis-iz] /ˈmɪs ɪz/ and sometimes
[mis-is] /ˈmɪs ɪs/ are the common forms in the North and North Midland, while in the South Midland and South, the prevalent types are
[miz-iz] /ˈmɪz ɪz/ and
[miz] /mɪz/ the latter homophonous with the usual pronunciation of the abbreviation Ms.
Examples from the web for mrs
  • Tingle fell short of election in wit, and in that teaching mrs.
  • In one of the episodes she appeared to have the same dress as mrs.
  • The main beneficiaries of his will were his eight surviving children by mrs.
  • Stepping into her own room after a brief word with dorothy, mrs.
  • Her position was undercut when it was revealed in one episode that, while mrs.
  • After this, he did not appear again except for in a video recording in mrs.
  • The last original inhabitant of calico before it was abandoned, mrs.
  • A portion of the expense was advanced by the daughters of the builder, mrs.
  • After this period of recovery lamb began to take lessons from mrs.
British Dictionary definitions for mrs

Mrs

/ˈmɪsɪz/
noun (pl) Mrs, Mesdames
1.
a title used before the name or names of a married woman
Word Origin
C17: originally an abbreviation of mistress
Word Origin and History for mrs

Mrs.

1580s, abbreviation of mistress (q.v.), originally in all uses of that word. The plural Mmes. is an abbreviation of French mesdames, plural of madame, used in English to serve as the plural of Mrs., which is lacking. Pronunciation "missis" was considered vulgar at least into 18c. (cf missus). The Mrs. "one's wife" is from 1920.

Slang definitions & phrases for mrs

missus

noun phrase

One's wife; the LITTLE WOMAN: He wanted the missus to get some sleep (1833+)


mrs in Technology


Modifiable Representation System.
An integration of logic programming into Lisp.
["A Modifiable Representation System", M. Genesereth et al, HPP 80-22, CS Dept Stanford U 1980].
(1994-11-08)

Related Abbreviations for mrs

MRS

  1. media recognition system
  2. medical review systems

Mrs.

Used as a courtesy title for a married or widowed woman (from "mistress")