mistress

[Amy West]

On 4/12/12 12:00 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
> Date:    Wed, 11 Apr 2012 02:31:43 -0400
> From:    "Douglas G. Wilson"<douglas at NB.NET>
> Subject: Re: mistress
>
> 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",
My mother has applied the term to my unmarried uncle's (her brother)
girlfriend. My mother did so knowing that it's a marked term and in
order to mark her disapproval of their remaining unmarried yet cohabiting.

So, in that one speaker's ideolect/lexicon, no: he does not have to be
married.

Granted, this is limited anecdotal evidence.

---Amy West

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