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Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: Annie Subjunctive on September 30, 2004, 05:49:18 PM

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 30, 2004, 05:49:18 PM

If I were to write out the word for which Mrs. is an abbreviation, what would it look like?

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: Papa Moose on September 30, 2004, 05:50:42 PM

I've usually seen it as "missus."

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 30, 2004, 05:51:15 PM

Is that where it really came from?  My roommate thinks it's an adaptation of Mr.

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: saxon75 on September 30, 2004, 06:13:33 PM

I think it's actually a corruption of "Mistress."

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 30, 2004, 06:36:58 PM

Oooh.  That makes sense.

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: Jonathon on September 30, 2004, 08:18:57 PM

Merriam-Webster has the main entry as missus with missis as a variant spelling.

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: pooka on September 30, 2004, 08:28:19 PM

Mister is actually short for Magister, I believe.  Strange that we don't use Master for unmarried men, unless you are Batman.

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: Jonathon on September 30, 2004, 08:41:46 PM

Mister is from master, which is from the Anglo-French maistre, which is from the Latin magister.

Title: How do you spell Mrs.?
Post by: Sheila on October 01, 2004, 08:33:15 AM

I think Bob the Lawyer is the only single male I refer to as Master.