Mrs.
[ mis-iz, miz-iz ]
/ ˈmɪs ɪz, ˈmɪz ɪz /
plural Mmes. [mey-dahm, -dam] /meɪˈdɑm, -ˈdæm/.
a title of respect prefixed to the surname or full name of a married woman: Mrs. Jones; Mrs. Susan Jones.
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 of Mrs.
abbreviation of
mistress
usage note for Mrs.
See
Ms.
pronunciation note for Mrs.
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/ 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.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH Mrs.
Mrs. MsExample sentences from the Web for mrs
British Dictionary definitions for mrs
Mrs
/ (ˈmɪsɪz) /
noun plural Mrs or Mesdames
a title used before the name or names of a married woman
Word Origin for Mrs
C17: originally an abbreviation of
mistress