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ounce. [Obs.] I defy the surety and the bond. Chaucer. For thee I have defied my constant mistress. Beau. & Fl.

The mistress of Samson, who betrayed him (Judges xvi.); hence, a harlot; a temptress. Other Delilahs on a smaller scale Burns met with during his Dumfries sojourn. J. C. Shairp.

Persons of doubtful reputation; esp., women who are kept as mistresses, though not public prostitutes; demireps. Literary demimonde, writers of the lowest kind.

To crowd out; to take the place of. Holland displaced Portugal as the mistress of those seas. London Times.

rinkle, as with water from a sponge. [Poetic & Rare] [Written also dispunge.] O sovereign mistress of true melancholy, The poisonous damp of night disponge upon me. Shak.

Lady; mistress; madam; -- a title of respect used in Spain, prefixed to the Christian name of a lady.

A lady; madam; mistress; -- the title given a lady in Italy.

A mistress; a sweetheart. I must ever have some Dulcinea in my head. Sterne.

Subservient; obsequious. Duteous to the vices of thy mistress. Shak. -- Du"te*ous*ly, adv. -- Du"te*ous*ness, n.

A sovereign mistress. "Empress of my soul." Shak. Empress cloth, a cloth for ladies' dresses, either wholly of wool, or with cotton warp and wool weft. It resembles merino, but is not twilled.

rm to; to injure; to disparage. [Obs.] If I make a lie To gain your love and envy my best mistress, Put me against a wall. J. Fletcher.

gination; whimsical; full of absurd fancies; capricious; as, fantastic minds; a fantastic mistress.

Ornament; decoration; especially, excecially decoration; showy clothes; jewels. Her mistress' cast-off finery. F. W. Robertson.

In a gentle manner. My mistress gently chides the fault I made. Dryden.

The mistress of a house. [Archaic] Robynson (More's Utopia).

A female paramour; a mistress, concubine, or harlot. -- He*tæ"ric, He*tai"ric (#), a.

n. [Rare, except in poetry] "My husband hies him home." Shak. The youth, returning to his mistress, hies. Dryden.

One who occupies a house with his family; a householder; the master or mistress of a family. Locke.

The wife of a householder; the mistress of a family; the female head of a household. Shak. He a good husband, a good housewife she. Dryden.

The business of the mistress of a family; female management of domestic concerns.