mistress

[Douglas G. Wilson]

On 4/11/2012 1:25 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
> ....

> So my question is 1) is it true that the term "mistress" applies only
> to a non-marital partner of a /married/ man?
--

I don't believe so. I suppose one can discuss at length whether the
right word in a given case/society is "[de jure or de facto] wife",
"mistress", "second wife", "girlfriend", or whatever, but I think IME
wherever this word "mistress" is natural it just means "a man's regular
long-term female sex partner who is not the man's wife". I think a man
can have wife/wives, or mistress(es), or both (depending on local laws,
customs, etc.), or neither.

I suppose in many contexts if a man has an acknowledged mistress but no
formal/legal wife, it might be natural to consider that mistress really
a sort of wife (e.g., "common-law wife" or so) (and therefore not called
a "mistress"). But I think -- for example -- hardly anyone would say
that a man's mistress stops being his mistress automatically on the loss
of his wife (by her death or by divorce).

-- Doug Wilson

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