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Ms. (pronounced /məz/ or /mɪz/) is a title used with the last name or full name of a woman. Unlike the more traditional titles Miss and Mrs., it does not bear any reference to the woman's marital status, as Mr. does not for a man.

Although it is usually believed to be a creation of modern feminism, Ms. was sporadically used as an abbreviation for the title " Mistress" (just like Mrs.) as early as the 1700s, and the pronunciation mizz for Mrs. was colloquial in the American South and other areas. Indeed "Mistress" originally did not bear reference to marital status either, until the title separated into the diminutive "Miss" and abbreviation "Mrs." in the Victorian era.

Its usage was championed as non-sexist language beginning in the 1970s, especially in business usage, by those who argue that a woman's marital status is of no relevance in such a context. Starting in the 1970s, many women insisted on being called Ms. for political reasons, and a major feminist magazine is named Ms.

Although some socially conservative women object to the use of Ms., the title is now standard, especially in business -- and where one may not know or find relevant the marital status of the woman so addressed. The default use of Ms. is championed by a number of etiquetteEtiquette is the code that governs the expectations of social behavior, the conventional norm. It is an unwritten code, which evolves from written rules, for the Greek equivalent of "etiquette" is protocol the written formula for ceremonial. It usually re writers, including Judith MartinJudith Martin (born 1938) is an American newspaper columnist and book author. Writing under the pseudonym Miss Manners she deals with problems of etiquette and manners contributed by her readership, as well as improving understanding of the essential qual (Miss Manners).

The title Miss is now considered quite old-fashioned -- except for actresses and entertainers, and sometimes for young girls. The title Mrs. is still in common use, especially by women who have taken their husband's family name.

Several public opponents of "non-sexist language", such as William SafireWilliam L. Safire (born December 17, 1929), columnist for The New York Times and author of fifteen books, writes syndicated op-ed pieces, generally with a conservative viewpoint. Since 1979, he has written "On Language," a weekly column in the New York Ti, were convinced that Ms. had earned a place in English by the case of Geraldine A. Ferraro. Ms. Ferraro, a United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in vice presidential candidate in 1984This page is about the year 1984. For other uses of 1984, see 1984 (disambiguation). 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday (link shows calendar). Events January January 1 Brunei becomes a fully independent state January 1 AT&T is broken up into 22 indepe, was a married woman who went by her birth surname rather than her husband's (Zaccaro). Safire pointed out that it would be equally incorrect to call her "Miss Ferraro" or "Mrs. Ferraro" -- or to confuse the reader by calling her "Mrs. Zaccaro"!

The rare plural of Ms. is Mses. It is not standard to use Ms. as a term of direct address; usually Ma'am will be used.

In other European languages, non-sexist usage in this regard usually amounts to using the equivalent of Mrs. (madame, señora, Frau) for both married and unmarried women. This makes sense as these titles are usually the direct feminine equivalents of the male titles, whereas the equivalent of Miss is a diminutive of the equivalent (mademoiselle, señorita, Fräulein).