DictionaryRoot: -esse
Old French
-esse
female
Forms
- -esse
- -ess — English dropped the final e.
Origin
From Late Latin -issa, borrowed from Greek.
Note
It can identify a female holder of a role, rather than describing the role itself.
4 / 5
noun
mistress
MIS-trus/ˈmɪstrəs/
A woman having a sexual relationship with a married person other than her spouse.
Etymology
The feminine of “master” could denote a woman in authority or a female lover. In the selected sense, the lover meaning is narrowed to a woman involved with someone married.