A title for a woman, derived from "mistress" (ie. "The Mistress of the
House"). "Mrs" was used to refer to any woman, regardless of age and/or maritial status until the Victorian
Era,
when the diminuitive "Miss" was selected for unmarried women and married women were known as "Mrs".
(English-speaking) feminists now decry the use of "Mrs", feeling that the view that a woman is complete only when she is married is demeaning. Therefore, they use "
Ms" instead.
Strangely, "In other European languages,
non-sexist usage in this regard usually amounts to using words more or less equivalent to Mrs. (madame, señora, senhora, signora, Frau, bean-uasal) for both married and unmarried women, and whether they take their
husband'
s name or not. This makes sense as these titles are usually the direct feminine equivalents of the male titles (monsieur, señor, senhor, signore, Herr, máistir/tiarna, maighstir/tighearna), whereas the equivalent of Miss is a diminutive of the
female equivalent (mademoiselle, señorita, senhorita, signorina, Fräulein, ógbhean-uasal, maighdeann-uasal)." -
Wikipedia