Miss
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Miss (pronounced /ˈmɪs/) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress. Its counterparts are Mrs., used for a married women who has taken her husband's name, and Ms., which can be used for married or unmarried women.
The plural Misses may be used, such as in The Misses Doe. The traditional French "Mademoiselle" (abbreviation "Mlle") may also be used as the plural in English language conversation or correspondence. In Australian, British, and Irish schools the term 'miss' is often used by pupils in addressing any female teacher.
Use alone as a form of address
Miss is an honorific for addressing a woman who is not married, and is known by her maiden name. It is a shortened form of mistress, and departed from misses/missus which became used to signify marital attachment in the 18th and 19th centuries. It does not imply age, though youth corresponds (as marriage implies adulthood).
Civil rights and the term Miss
Addressing someone with "Miss" or "Mrs." was frequently denied to African-Americans women in the South in the early 1960s. After Mary Hamilton was one of many civil rights protesters arrested in 1963 in Gadsden, Alabama,[1] during cross examination at a habeas corpus hearing by the prosecutor in the Etowah County courthouse she refused to answer unless he stopped addressing her as "Mary", demanding she be called "Miss Hamilton".[2] She was fined $50 for contempt of court and, when she refused to pay, spent five days in jail.[1]
This led to Hamilton v. Alabama, 376 U.S. 650 (1964), a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that Mary Hamilton was entitled to the same courteous forms of address customarily reserved solely for whites in the Southern United States.[3] and that calling a black person by their first name in a formal context was "a form of racial discrimination".[4][5]
Ms. as alternative
Sheila Michaels is credited with popularizing Ms. as a default form of address for women regardless of their marital status.[6][7]
See also
- Fräulein (German-language term for Miss, gained popularity due to the Fräuleinwunder, lit. Miracle of the Miss)[dubious – discuss]
References
- ^ a b "When 'Miss' Meant So Much More: How One Woman Fought Alabama — And Won". NPR. November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- ^ Lawless, Joseph F. (2008). Prosecutorial Misconduct: Law, Procedure, Forms. LexisNexis. p. 1207. ISBN 9781422422137.
- ^ Bobrow, Jerry (2005). Barron's How to Prepare for the LSAT, Law School Admission Test. Barron's Educational Series. p. 587. ISBN 978-0-7641-2412-9. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ "Call Her Miss". Time. April 10, 1964. Archived from the original on July 19, 2005. Retrieved July 13, 2013. (Subscription required.)
- ^ "Hamilton v. Alabama, 376 US 650 - Supreme Court 1964 - Google Scholar".
- ^ Davies, Caroline (7 July 2017). "Sheila Michaels, who brought 'Ms' into mainstream, dies at 78". The Guardian.
- ^ "Ms Sheila Michaels: Feminist who popularised 'Ms', dies aged 78". BBC News. 7 July 2017.