maîtresse en titre

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French maîtresse en titre.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /meɪˌtɹɛs ɒn ˈtiːtɹ(ə)/

Noun

maîtresse en titre (plural maîtresses en titre)

1. An open or official mistress. [from 19th c.]
   • 1924, Ford Madox Ford, Some Do Not… (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012, page 87:

     General Campion had assigned her to him as maîtresse en titre.

   • 1991, Princess Michael of Kent, Cupid and the King, Touchstone, published 2005, page 89:

     In view of the dubious role of a maîtresse en titre, no less a personage than a cousin of the monarch was considered suitable as a sponsor.