Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:

Romance and relationships

Mistress (lover) A mistress is a woman who is in a relatively long-term sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a different woman. Description A mistress is in a long-term relationship with her attached mister, and is often referred to ...

, a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a different woman

Title or form of address

Mistress (form of address) Mistress is an old form of address for a woman. It implies "lady of the house", especially a woman who is head of a household with domestic workers. An example is Mistress Quickly in Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''. The title did not ...

, an old-fashioned term for the lady of the house *

Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...

, original abbreviation *

Mistress (college) A master (more generically called a head of house or head of college) is the head or senior member of a college within a collegiate university, principally in the United Kingdom. The actual title of the head of a college varies widely between i ...

, a female head of a college *

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota o ...

, the senior lady of the British Royal Household * Female

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

, also called a schoolmistress or "schoolmarm"

In ancient religions

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

, Egyptian goddess known as the mistress of the house of life *

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...

, Egyptian goddess known as the mistress of the west *

Nepthys Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian ( grc-gre, Νέφθυς) was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired ...

, Egyptian goddess of the underworld, known as the mistress of the temple *

Despoina In Greek mythology, Despoina or Despoena (; el, Δέσποινα, Déspoina) was the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon and sister of Arion. She was worshipped under the title ''Despoina'' ("the mistress") alongside her mother Demeter, one of t ...

, a Greek title for the mistress of the house, applied to various women and goddesses * Potnia theron, or mistress of the animals, a title applied by Homer to the Greek goddess Artemis *

Potnia Potnia is an Ancient Greek word for "Mistress, Lady" and a title of a goddess. The word was inherited by Classical Greek from Mycenean Greek with the same meaning and it was applied to several goddesses. A similar word is the title Despoina, ...

("Mistress"), a title applied to various Greek goddesses * Mistress of the

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

, in the palace of Knossos in Crete

In arts and entertainment

Mistress (band) Mistress were a British extreme metal band from Birmingham, England. The members of this five-piece band adopted pseudonyms as stage-names including: Drunken and Misery on guitars, Dirty Von Arse on bass, Dave Cunt on vocals and Migg on drums. ...

, a sludge metal/grindcore band from Birmingham, England * ''Mistress'', a split-up death metal band from Germany, fronted by

Angela Gossow Angela Nathalie Gossow (born 5 November 1974) is a German vocalist, best known as the former lead singer for the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. Her other previous bands include Asmodina and Mistress. Early life Angela Gossow was b ...

* ''Mistress'' (1992 film) * ''Mistress'' (1987 film) starring Victoria Principal * ''Mistresses'' (British TV series) * ''Mistresses'' (American TV series), American adaptation of the UK series * ''Mistress'' (TV series), South Korean adaptation of the UK series * "Mistress", a song by Disturbed from '' Believe'' * "Mistress", a song by Rebecca Ferguson from ''

Superwoman Superwoman is the name of several fictional characters from DC Comics. Most of them are, like Supergirl, women with powers similar to those of Superman, like flight, invulnerability, and enhanced strength. Detective Comics, Inc. trademarked the ...

'' * "Mistress", a song by Suede from '' The Blue Hour'' * ''Mistress'' (novel), a 2013 novel by James Patterson

Other uses

Dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...

, in BDSM

Romance and relationships

Title or form of address

In ancient religions

In arts and entertainment

Other uses

See also