Mrs.
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Mrs (UK) or Mrs. (USA) is an English honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not have a title that would take precedence over it, such as “Dr”, “Lady” or “Dame”. The pronunciation varies regionally but is usually (ˈmɪsɨz or /ˈmɪsɨs/). An exception is the American South, where the “s” and “z” sounds are sometimes slurred together, sounding very much like the way “Ms.” is pronounced. In most Commonwealth countries and Ireland, a full stop (period) does not usually follow the abbreviated form: “Mrs Price”. In the U.S. a period is almost always used: This divergence in custom is discussed in the history section of the article on 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 women began during the 17th century [1][2] It has become rare for Mrs to be written out and it lacks a standard phonetic spelling. In literature it may appear as “missus” or “missis” in dialogue, and a variant in the works of Thomas Hardy and others is “Mis’ess”, reflecting its etymology.
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[edit] Usage
“Mrs.” may be used to replace a woman's own last name with the husband’s last name, e.g. “Mrs. Smith”, or with his full name: e.g. “Mrs. John Smith”. A widow may be addressed as Mrs, followed by her late husband's full name. Mrs. is not generally used before a woman's own last name nor before a last name that differs from her husband's, such as if she has hyphenated her surname and he has not. For example, “Mrs. Jane Miller” (wife of John Smith) or “Mrs. Jane Miller-Smith” is considered incorrect by many etiquette writers, especially of the early 20th century.[3]
In the United Kingdom the traditional form for a divorcée is “Mrs Jane Smith”. In the U.S., the form “Mrs. Miller Smith” was traditionally used, with the birth surname in place of the first name. However, the form “Mrs. Jane Miller” has since become widely used for divorcées, even in formal correspondence.
The plural of “Mrs.”, rarely used, is the French “Mesdames”, pronounced in the same manner, [mə 'dæm], and usually written in its abbreviated form, “Mmes”. In direct address, a woman with the title “Mrs.” will usually be addressed as “Madam”, or as “Ma’am.”
[edit] Marital status
The separation of “Miss” and “Mrs.” became problematic as women entered the white-collar workforce. Women who became famous or well known in their professional circles before marriage often kept their birth names, stage names, or noms de plume. ‘Miss’ became the appellation for celebrities (Miss Helen Hayes, Miss Amelia Earhart) but this also proved problematic, as when a married woman did use her husband’s name but was still referred to as ‘Miss’ — see more at Ms. and Miss.
“Mrs.” is used with a woman's maiden name only in limited circumstances. Before social mores relaxed to the point where single women with children were socially acceptable, the “unwed mother” was often advised by etiquette mavens like Emily Post to use “Mrs.” with her maiden name to avoid scrutiny. The use of “Mrs.” as a default for all women is occasionally employed following the custom of European countries (see below).
‘Ms.’ is a further contraction that does not indicate marital status nor replaces the woman's identity based on a physical trait or social privilege (eg. color of skin or gender). It is equivalent and denotes equality with ‘Mr.’, particularly in professional situations.
In several other European languages the title for married women, such as Madame, Señora, Signora, or Frau, is the direct feminine equivalent of the title used for men; the title for unmarried women is a diminutive: Mademoiselle, Señorita, Signorina or Fräulein. For this reason, usage has shifted towards using the married title as the default for all women in professional usage. This has long been followed in the United Kingdom for some high-ranking household staff, such as housekeepers, cooks, and nannies, who have been called “Mrs.” as a mark of respect. (Although stereotypical, it is also seems possible that "Mrs." may be preferred more often, out of respect, because the person addressing the woman may not know her marital status, and may find it disrespectful to directly ask her in order to correct the title.)
[edit] Modern social use
It is now uncommon for women to use their husband's first name, except in compounds such as “Mr. and Mrs. Rhett Butler”. The form is used only now in archaic formal invitations, or when the husband is famous or well-known in business or professional circles (Mrs. Avery Fisher) or when a woman is making a particular point (“I am Mrs. Norman Maine.”).
A current discussion in etiquette is the question of how to address married couples with the same last name or in which the wife uses her own last name, or uses a title other such as “Dr.”
Etiquette writer Judith Martin (b. 1938, “Miss Manners”) has offered advice for referring to a lesbian couple who have adopted one surname, in the following form, in order by first name:
- Mmes Alice and Carol Roe
Should they retain individual surnames, the separate-lines advice applies as above, except that the names should be in order by surname:
- Mmes Jane Davies and Alice Roe
In Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK, the word “missus” is slang for girlfriend, partner or wife.
The term “M.R.S. degree” (in parallel with master's degree) has been used derogatorily to denote women whose reasons for attending college appear to be to find a husband rather than to study.[4]
[edit] Foreign equivalents
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- Afrikaans: Mevrou (Mev.)
- Albanian: Zonjë (Znj.)
- Arabic: ﺳﻴﺪۃ (Sayyidah)
- Armenian: Տիկին (Tikin)
- Azeri: Xanım
- Belarusian: Спадарыня Spadarynia (read: -nya), Панi (Pani)
- Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Gospođa, (Serbian Cyrillic Госпођа) (G-đa or Gđa., Г-ђа or Гђа.)
- Bulgarian: Госпожа (Г-жа G-ja),
- Catalan: Senyora (Sra.)
- Chinese 夫人 (Fūren)
- Czech: Paní (Pí.)
- Danish: Fru (Fr.)
- Dutch: Mevrouw (Mevr.)
- Esperanto: Sinjorino (S-ino)
- Estonian: Proua (Pr.)
- Finnish: Rouva (Rva)
- Filipino: Ginang (Gng.)
- French: Madame (Mme)
- Galician: Dona (Dna.)
- Georgian: ქალბატონი (K'albatoni)
- German: Frau (Fr.)
- Greek: Κυρία, Kiría , (Κα., Ka.)
- Hebrew: גברת (Gveret)
- Hindi: श्रीमती (Śrīmatī)
- Hungarian: Asszony
- Icelandic: Frú (Fr.)
- Ido: Sioro or Siorino (Sro.; Sr-no.), the former being used both for men or women, and the latter being specific for (usually married) women.
- Indonesian: Nyonya (Ny.)
- Irish: Bean (Bn)
- Italian: Signora (Sig.ra)
- Japanese: 女史 (じょし) (Joshi)
- Kannada: ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ (Śrīmatī)
- Kazakh: Ханым (Khanym)
- Korean: 부인 (Buin)
- Latvian: Kundze
- Lithuanian: Ponia
- Macedonian: Госпоѓа, (Gospogja) (abbreviation: Gga or G-ga; in Cyrilic: Г-ѓа or Гѓа). Used for all married women.
- Malay: Puan
- Maltese: Sinjura
- Marathi: सौभाग्यवती Saubhāgyavatī (सौ Sau)
- Norwegian: Fru (Fr.)
- Occitan: Dòna (Da.)
- Persian: بانو (Bānu)
- Polish: Pani (P.)
- Portuguese: Senhora (Sra.)
- Punjabi: ਸਰਦਾਰਨੀ (Sardarni) (ਸਦਨ Sdn.)
- Romanian: Doamna (D-na)
- Russian: Госпожа (Gospozha) (Г-жа G-zha)
- Sanskrit: श्रीमती (Śrīmatī)
- Scots Gaelic: Bean (Be.)
- Slovak: Pani (P.)
- Slovenian: Gospa (Ga.)
- Spanish: Señora (Sra.)
- Swedish: Fru (Fr.)
- Tamil: திருமதி (Thirumathi)
- Telugu: శ్రీమతి (Śrīmatī)
- Thai: นาง (Nang)
- Turkish: Bayan (Byn.)
- Ukrainian: Панi (Pani)
- Vietnamese: Bà (B.)
- Welsh: Bonesig
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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