A title for a woman, derived from "
mistress" (ie. "The
Mistress of the House"). "Mrs" was used to refer to any woman, regardless of age and/or maritial status until the
Victorian Era, when the diminuitive "Miss" was selected for
unmarried women and married women were known as "Mrs".
Example:
(English-speaking) feminists now decry the use of "Mrs", feeling that the view that a woman is complete only when she is married is demeaning. Therefore, they use "Ms" instead.
Strangely, "In other European languages, non-sexist usage in this regard usually amounts to using words more or less equivalent to Mrs. (madame, señora, senhora, signora, Frau,
bean-uasal) for both married and unmarried women, and whether they take their husband's name or not. This makes sense as these titles are usually the direct feminine equivalents of the male titles (monsieur, señor, senhor, signore, Herr, máistir/tiarna, maighstir/
tighearna), whereas the equivalent of Miss is a diminutive of the female equivalent (mademoiselle, señorita,
senhorita, signorina,
Fräulein, ógbhean-uasal, maighdeann-uasal)." - Wikipedia