The terms Miss, Ms., and Mrs. are different variations of English female honorifics.Though they all stem from the same word "mistress," the feminine equivalent of "mister" their meanings are traditionally quite different."Miss" usually indicates an unmarried, often young (under 18) woman. As a diminutive version of honorific, it is the equivalent of mademoiselle in French or se orita in Spanish.
. "Ms." tends to be a more ambiguous term, used by women who may or may not be married but don't wish to express the fact in their titles. The term was revived in the 20th century when women began to work outside the home, gaining a sense of independence from marital restrictions and labels. "Ms." is also generally used in social settings when marital status is not known."Mrs." generally indicates a married or older woman. Before the 17th century, it could refer to any woman regardless of marital status, however, the distinctive split arose for social reasons. The honorific is rarely written out, though sometimes appears phonetically in literature as "missus."Ms is a term that was placed on business letters as a convenient way to address the woman. In context it can be used like Mr. written with the last name alone or both the first and last name of the person. Ms is also used in informal titles such as "Ms. Fashionable" to indicate an attribute or an activity "Ms. Volleyball". After a man has introduced his wife, if he has introduced her using her first name she may be called by thay "This is my wife Lucy" and the response would be "Its a pleasure to meet you Lucy". However if he has introduced his wife who is older then use the term Mrs. out of respect.For more information on the uses of Ms. Miss. and Mrs. please seehttp://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/using_personal_titles04.html More reference links: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/abbreviations.htm http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/using_personal_titles04.html
