Wife vs. Misstress: What's the Difference?

Wife and Misstress Definitions
Wife
A woman joined to another person in marriage; a female spouse.
Misstress
To stress incorrectly.
A misstressed syllable
Wife
A married woman, especially in relation to her spouse.
The Fisherman and His Wife
Wife
The female of a pair of mated animals.
A new wife for the gander is introduced into the pen.
Wife
(Scotland) woman.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wife
To marry (a woman)
Wife
A woman; an adult female; - now used in literature only in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife, goodwife, and the like.
On the green he saw sitting a wife.
Wife
The lawful consort of a man; a woman who is united to a man in wedlock; a woman who has a husband; a married woman; - correlative of husband.
Let every one you . . . so love his wife even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Wife
A married woman; a man's partner in marriage