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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

MISTRESS, n. Also mistris; mustress. [′mɪstrɪs, in all senses including sense 1.]

Sc. usages:

1. Prefixed in full to the name of a married woman, instead of the more usual abbrev. Mrs. in order to indicate the Sc. pronunciation (see phonetics). Gen.Sc. Now dial. in Eng.Sc. 1816 Scott O. Mortality xli.:
“Good evening, mother”, said the traveller. — “Your name is Mistress Maclure?” “Elizabeth Maclure, sir, a poor widow.”Ags. 1860 A. Whamond James Tacket xii.:
It was not yet customary in our parish to designate a married woman by the name of her husband. . . . A few innovators sometimes gave the title of Mrs to the inkeeper's wife; but this was resisted in such terms as these — “Set her up wi' Mistress! Jenny Cobb's guide eneuch for her. Her faither was a cadger!”Abd. 1865 G. Macdonald Alec Forbes lxxxviii.:
Hoo are ye, Mistress Forbes? Hoo are ye, Miss Anderson?Kcb. 1894 Crockett Raiders v.:
“And is this the place that ye hae wiled my Andra and my Johnnie to, puir lads!” cried Mistress Allison.Ags. 1903 T. Fyfe Lintrathen 11:
Cottars' wives were never styled mistress, nor was the husband's surname adopted.Bnff. 1950 N. Paterson Behold Thy Daughter iii. iii.:
Thank ye, Mistress Skene, thank ye richt kindly, ma'am.Gsw. 1985 Anna Blair Tea at Miss Cranston's 72:
I was in service (och, this would be round about the 1930s) early on...it was a big house in Jordanhill. They had a cook an' all, a Mistress Good, and I had to help a bit in the kitchen as well's being the housemaid.

2. With def. art., freq. as a kind of title: the wife of an important person in the community, such as a farmer, minister or shop-keeper. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1773 Boswell Hebrides (6 Sept.) note:
The tacksmen, or principal tenants, are named by their farms, as Kingsburgh, Corrichatachin; and their wives are called the mistress of Kingsburgh, the mistress of Corrichatachin.Ayr. 1822 Galt Steam-Boat xii.:
The mistress, as a' minister's wives of the right gospel and evangelical kind should be, was in a wholesome state of composity.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
Mistress. A sort of title given in the Highlands, Islands, and South of S., to the wife of a principal tenant . . . In the same manner, in the Lowlands, especially in the country, the wife of a minister is called the Mistress.Abd. 1960 Stat. Acc.³ (Aberdeenshire) 402:
Most farmers dance at least once with their cottars' wives and the cottar as often with the “mistress”.

3. Used, especially by a husband, or by a third person addressing a husband, to refer to his wife. Gen.Sc. Also in Eng. dial.Sc. 1825 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 26:
I hope . . . you will bring the mistress and the weans to the house-warming?Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.:
“His mistress opened the door to me,” i.e. his wife.Per. 1883 R. Cleland Inchbracken xix.:
The wife wad be for pu'in' the wig aff my cantle, . . . for she's no for prankin' wi' that gate, my mistress!Arg. 1923 H. Foulis Hurricane Jack 94:
What way's hersel' — the mustress keepin'?Lnk. 1951 G. Rae Howe o' Braefoot 59:
Colonel Dewdrap an' his mistress . . . hae celebrated their gowden waddin' yestreen.

4. In Mining: a protective covering for a miner working at excavating a shaft in wet conditions (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms 45); a protective covering for a miner's lamp enabling it to burn in wet or in a stream of air (Ib.; Ayr. c.1930). Also in n.Eng. dial. This meaning may arise from the fancied resemblance to a married woman's cap.