Mrs.

rdf:langString Mrs.

rdf:langString Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: /ˈmɪsɪz/ MISS-iz) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as Doctor, Professor, President, Dame, etc. In most Commonwealth countries, a full stop (period) is usually not used with the title. In the United States and Canada a period (full stop) is usually used (see Abbreviation). Mrs originated as a contraction of the honorific Mistress (the feminine of Mister or Master) which was originally applied to both married and unmarried women. The split into Mrs for married women and Miss for unmarried began during the 17th century; the 17th century also saw the coinage of a new unmarked option Ms with a return of this usage appearing in the 20th century. It is rare for Mrs to be written in a non-abbreviated form, and the unabbreviated word lacks a standard spelling. In literature it may appear as missus or missis in dialogue. A variant in the works of Thomas Hardy and others is "Mis'ess", reflecting its etymology. Misses has been used but is ambiguous, as this is a commonly used plural for Miss. The plural of Mrs is from the French: Mesdames. This may be used as-is in written correspondence, or it may be abbreviated Mmes.