Mrs.

For other uses, see MRS (disambiguation).

Mrs (UK) or Mrs. (USA, Canada) (Standard English pronunciation /mɪsəz/, like the word misses) is a honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title, such as Dr, Lady, or Dame. In most Commonwealth countries, a full stop (period) is not used with the title. In the United States, Canada and South Africa a period is used (see Abbreviation).^{[citation needed]}

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 from Ms and Miss began during the 17th century.^[1][2]

It is rare for Mrs to be written in a non-abbreviated form and 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. Misses has been used but is ambiguous as this is also used as a plural for Miss. The plural of Mrs is from the French: Mesdames. This may be used as is in written correspondence, or may be abbreviated Mmes.

Traditional usage

Mrs was most often used by women when married, conjunction with her husband's first and last names (e.g., Mrs John Smith). A widow was and still is addressed with the same title as when she was married. Mrs was rarely used before a woman's first name, maiden name, or before a hyphenated surname her husband was not using. For example, Mrs Jane Miller (wife of John Smith), Mrs Jane Smith, or Mrs Jane Miller-Smith were considered incorrect by many etiquette writers, especially of the early 20th century.^[3]

Mrs was often used as a default for all women regardless of marital status, following the custom of some European countries. In several 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 had shifted towards using the married title as the default for all women in professional usage. This had long been followed in the United Kingdom for some high-ranking household staff, such as housekeepers, cooks, and nannies, who were called Mrs as a mark of respect regardless of marital status. However, the marital-neutral Ms then became the default title for women professionally and socially in the latter 20th century.

In the United Kingdom the traditional form for a divorcée was Mrs Jane Smith. In the U.S., the divorcée originally retained her full married name unless she remarried. Later, the form Mrs Miller Smith was sometimes used, with the birth surname in place of the first name. However, the form Mrs Jane Miller eventually became widely used for divorcées, even in formal correspondence.

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 separation of Miss and Mrs became problematic as more 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 (e.g., Miss Helen Hayes, or 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.

Modern usage

It is now less common for a woman to be addressed using her husband's first name, except when the couple is being addressed jointly, such as in Mr and Mrs Caleb Klapp.

Many married women still use the title with their husband's last name, but retaining their first name, Mrs Jane Smith, while many have eschewed the title completely in professional life, utilizing Ms. Any choice of title, first, and last name is considered acceptable both socially and professionally today.

Modern etiquette has no absolute rules as how to address married couples in which the wife uses her own last name, or uses a title such as Dr or Mayor. Etiquette writer Judith Martin (Miss Manners) generally advises in non-standard situations, the individuals be addressed in separate lines on invitations (Dr Sue Martin/Mr John Martin).

In direct address, a woman with the title Mrs may be addressed Ms [Lastname], or with the stand alone Madam or Ma'am, though these are most often used for all adult women regardless of marital status in modern conversation.

Non-English equivalents

• Afrikaans: Mevrou (Mev.)
• Albanian: Zonjë (Znj.)
• Amharic: ወይዘሮ (Woyzero, Wrz.)
• Arabic: ﺳﻴﺪه (Sayyidah)
• Armenian: Տիկին (Tikin)
• Assyrian: ܡܝܩܪܬܐ (Myaqarto/Myaqurta)
• Azeri: Xanım
• Belarusian: Спадарыня Spadarynia (read: -nya), Панi (Pani)
• Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Gospođa, (Serbian Cyrillic Госпођа) (G-đa or Gđa., Г-ђа or Гђа.)
• Brazil: Senhora (Sra.)
• Bulgarian: Госпожа (Г-жа G-ja),
• Burmese: Daw
• Catalan: Senyora (Sra.)
• Chinese 太太 (Tàitai), 夫人 (Fūren)
• Czech: Paní (Pí.)
• Croatian: Gospođa (Gđa)
• Danish: Fru (Fr.)
• Dholuo: Min
• Dutch: Mevrouw (Mevr. or Mw.)
• Esperanto: Sinjorino (S-ino)
• Estonian: Proua (Pr.)
• Finnish: Rouva (Rva)
• Filipino: Ginang (Gng.)
• French: Madame (M^me)
• Galician: Dona (Dna.)
• Georgian: ქალბატონი (K'albatoni)
• German: Frau (Fr., abbreviation rarely used)^[4]
• Greek: Κυρία, Kyría, (abbr. Κα, Ka) literally: Lady; plural Κυρίες, Kyríes (abbr. Κες, kes), literally: Ladies. Unlike English practice, these styles are never to be used for the deceased; in such cases, styles of religious connotation (the blessed or forgiven, etc.) are used.
• Hebrew: גברת (Gveret)
• Hindi: श्रीमती (Śrīmatī)
• Hungarian: asszony, -né
• 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: 夫人 (ふじん) (Fujin)
• Kannada: ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ (Śrīmatī)
• Kazakh: Ханым (Khanym)
• Khmer: អ្នកស្រី (Neak Srey), លោកស្រី (Lork Srey)
• Korean: 부인 (Buin)
• Kotava: weltikya
• Kurdish: Brajn, Xanm
• 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
• Malayalam: ശ്രീമതി (Śrīmati)
• Maltese: Sinjura
• Marathi: सौभाग्यवती Saubhāgyavatī (सौ Sau)
• Mongolian: Хатагтай (Hatagtai)
• Norwegian: Fru (Fr.)
• Occitan: Dòna (Da.)
• Oriya: Srimati
• Persian: خانم (Khanum), formal: بانو (Banu)
• Polish: Pani (P.)
• Portuguese: Senhora (Srª.)
• Punjabi: ਸਰਦਾਰਨੀ (Sardarni) (ਸਦਨ Sdn.)
• Romanian: Doamnă (Dna)
• Russian: Госпожа (Gospozha) (Г-жа G-zha)
• Sanskrit: श्रीमती (Śrīmatī)
• Scots Gaelic: Bean (Be.)
• Serbian: Gospodja, Gospođa (Госпођа) (Gdja. Gđa. Гђа.)
• Sinhala: මහත්මිය (Mahathmiya), Honorary address මැතිණිය (Mäthiniya)
• Slovak: Pani (p.)
• Slovenian: Gospa (Ga.)
• Somali: Marwo (Marwo)
• Spanish: Señora (Sra.)
• Swahili: Bibi (Bi.)
• Swedish: Fru (Fr.)
• Tamil: திருமதி (Thirumathi)
• Telugu: శ్రీమతి (Śrīmatī)
• Thai: นาง (Nang)
• Tswana: Mma
• Turkish: Bayan (Byn.), Hanım, Hanımefendi
• Ukrainian: Пані (Pani)
• Urdu: Begum, Mohatarma
• Vietnamese: Bà (B.)
• Welsh: Bonesig
• Yoruba: "Iyaafin"

References

1. ^ Spender, Dale. Man-Made Language.
2. ^ Stannard, Una. Mrs Man.
3. ^ Post, Emily. Etiquette. 1922.
4. ^ "Writing Letters in German". Oxford Language Dictionaries Online. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com/Public/PublicResources.html?direction=b-de-en&sp=S/oldo/resources/de/Writing_Letters_in_German.html&view=uk. Retrieved December 22, 2010.