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Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English) (Standard English pronunciation ) is a commonly used English honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as ''Dr'', ''Professor'', ''Ms.'', ''President'', ''Dame'', ''Prime Minister'', etc. In most Commonwealth countries, a full stop (period) is not used with the title. In the United States and Canada a period is used (see Abbreviation). ''Mrs'' originated as a contraction of the honorific ''Mistress'', the feminine of ''Mister'', or ''Master'', which was originally applied to both married and unmarried women. The split into ''Mrs'' for married women and ''Miss'' for unmarried began during the 17th century;〔Spender, Dale. ''Man-Made Language.''〕〔Stannard, Una. ''Mrs Man''.〕 the 20th century saw the coinage of a new unmarked option ''Ms''. It is rare for ''Mrs'' to be written in a non-abbreviated form, and the unabbreviated word lacks a standard spelling. In literature it may appear as ''missus'' or ''missis'' in dialogue. A variant in the works of Thomas Hardy and others is "Mis'ess", reflecting its etymology. ''Misses'' has been used but is ambiguous, as this is a commonly-used plural for ''Miss''. The plural of ''Mrs'' is from the French: ''Mesdames''. This may be used as-is in written correspondence, or it may be abbreviated ''Mmes''. ==Traditional usage== ''Mrs'' was most often used by a woman when married, in conjunction with her husband's first and last names (e.g., ''Mrs John Smith''). A widow was and still is addressed with the same title as when she was married. ''Mrs'' was rarely used before a woman's first name, her maiden name, or a hyphenated surname her husband was not using. For example, ''Mrs Jane Miller'' (wife of John Smith), ''Mrs Jane Smith'', or ''Mrs Jane Miller-Smith'' were considered incorrect by many etiquette writers, especially of the early 20th century.〔Post, Emily. ''Etiquette.'' 1922.〕 In several languages the title for married women, such as ''Madame'', ''Señora'', ''Signora'', or ''Frau'', is the direct feminine equivalent of the title used for men; the title for unmarried women is a diminutive: ''Mademoiselle'', ''Señorita'', ''Signorina'', or ''Fräulein''. For this reason, usage had shifted towards using the married title as the default for all women in professional usage. This had long been followed in the United Kingdom for some high-ranking household staff, such as housekeepers, cooks, and nannies, who were called ''Mrs'' as a mark of respect regardless of marital status. However, in the late 20th century the marital-neutral Ms became more common for women professionally and socially. In the United Kingdom, the traditional form for a divorcée was ''Mrs Jane Smith''. In the U.S., the divorcée originally retained her full married name unless she remarried. Later, the form ''Mrs Miller Smith'' was sometimes used, with the birth surname in place of the first name. However, the form ''Mrs Jane Miller'' eventually became widely used for divorcées, even in formal correspondence; that is, ''Mrs'' preceded the divorcée's maiden name. Before social mores relaxed to the point where single women with children were socially acceptable, the unwed mother was often advised by etiquette mavens like Emily Post to use ''Mrs'' with her maiden name to avoid scrutiny. The separation of ''Miss'' and ''Mrs'' became problematic as more women entered the white-collar workforce. Women who became famous or well known in their professional circles before marriage often kept their birth names, stage names, or ''noms de plume''. ''Miss'' became the appellation for celebrities (e.g., Miss Helen Hayes, or Miss Amelia Earhart) but this also proved problematic, as when a married woman ''did'' use her husband’s last name but was still referred to as ''Miss''; see more at Ms and Miss. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mrs.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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