To be one's own mistress, to be exempt from control by another person.

Mistress
(Mis"tress), v. i. To wait upon a mistress; to be courting. [Obs.] Donne.

Mistressship
(Mis"tress*ship), n.

1. Female rule or dominion.

2. Ladyship, a style of address; — with the personal pronoun. [Obs.] Massinger.

Mistrial
(Mis*tri"al) n. (Law) A false or erroneous trial; a trial which has no result.

Mistrist
(Mis*trist") v. t. To mistrust. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mistranslate
(Mis`trans*late") v. t. To translate erroneously.

Mistranslation
(Mis`trans*la"tion) n. Wrong translation.

Mistransport
(Mis`trans*port") v. t. To carry away or mislead wrongfully, as by passion. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Mistreading
(Mis*tread"ing) n. Misstep; misbehavior. "To punish my mistreadings." Shak.

Mistreat
(Mis*treat") v. t. To treat amiss; to abuse.

Mistreatment
(Mis*treat"ment) n. Wrong treatment.

Mistress
(Mis"tress) n. [OE. maistress, OF. maistresse, F. maîtresse, LL. magistrissa, for L. magistra, fem. of magister. See Master, Mister, and cf. Miss a young woman.]

1. A woman having power, authority, or ownership; a woman who exercises authority, is chief, etc.; the female head of a family, a school, etc.

The late queen's gentlewoman! a knight's daughter!
To be her mistress' mistress!
Shak.

2. A woman well skilled in anything, or having the mastery over it.

A letter desires all young wives to make themselves mistresses of Wingate's Arithmetic.
Addison.

3. A woman regarded with love and devotion; she who has command over one's heart; a beloved object; a sweetheart. [Poetic] Clarendon.

4. A woman filling the place, but without the rights, of a wife; a concubine; a loose woman with whom one consorts habitually. Spectator.

5. A title of courtesy formerly prefixed to the name of a woman, married or unmarried, but now superseded by the contracted forms, Mrs., for a married, and Miss, for an unmarried, woman.

Now Mistress Gilpin (careful soul).
Cowper.

6. A married woman; a wife. [Scot.]

Several of the neighboring mistresses had assembled to witness the event of this memorable evening.
Sir W. Scott.

7. The old name of the jack at bowls. Beau. & Fl.


  By PanEris using Melati.

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