mistress:
(plural: ‘mistresses‘)
A. old usage:
a head mistress
a woman who owned a slave;
a woman who is the sweetheart/love of a man;
a title placed before the name of a woman or girl;
a woman school teacher,
The slave was very thankful to her mistress for treating her kindly.
The gentleman visited the park every evening to meet his mistress who would be there with her chaperon.
The headmistresses of some old schools were very stern in their dealing with truants.
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B. present & more common usage:
a woman who is not a man’s wife but has continuing/regular sexual relationship with that man, usually a married man, and receives money, gifts or other benefits from that man, who is treated as a criminal by the law and as an immoral woman by the society;
a doxy; a kept woman;
a woman who is the owner of a house, shop, restaurant, business, etc.;
a woman owner of a pet animal,
Tiger Wood’s alleged mistresses
Some wealthy men keep a couple of mistresses as a sign of manliness and status symbol.
The mistress of the lodge I stayed during my stay in the country was an angel; she had been very helpful!
The mistress of the house showed the new maid-servant her duties one by one.
