Mr.

This article is about the title. For other uses, see MR.

Mister, usually written in its abbreviated form Mr (Commonwealth English) or Mr. (American English), is a commonly used English honorific for men under the rank of knighthood. The title derived from master, as the equivalent female titles, Mrs., Miss, and Ms, all derived from the archaic mistress. The title master was retained and used for boys and young men, but is now less commonly used.

In fact, the form mister, especially when lowercased, can be considered a variant form of Mr that is often used humorously or to offend or an informal form used as a form of address to a man whose name is not known.^[1]

The plural form is Messrs (UK) or Messrs. (US), pronounced /ˈmɛsərz/).^[2][3] This is an English abbreviation (not used in French) of the French word "messieurs" (French pronunciation: [mesjø]), which is also sometimes pronounced /ˈmɛsərz/ in English. (The French abbreviation is "MM.".) A formal written address to related men with common surnames may be in the form "the Messieurs Smith" or "the Messrs. Smith".^[4] Some style guides say that two unrelated men who share a common surname should be addressed individually, but major dictionaries such as the Oxford English Dictionary record no such restrictions in usage and say that Messrs is widely used to refer formally to more than one man simultaneously and is used in the names of some companies.

Usage

When addressing someone directly: Mr is usually used with the last name only ("May I help you, Mr Thompson?"). In other circumstances, it can be used with either the last name or the full name ("This is Mr Christopher Eccleston."; "Would you please help, Mr Eccleston?"). In formal written address, it is usually used along with the full name, or with initials and surname.

When a man's name is unknown, "mister" is sometimes used informally by itself in direct address, as in, "Hello, mister," or "Are you all right, mister?" Though not necessarily meant disrespectfully, such use may to some people seem rude.

While in the United States a man may use the title socially, even if he holds a professional, political, or other title, such as "Dr.," in Britain "Dr" is seen as disqualifying one from the use of "Mr".

In some American subcultures, including the Southern United States and in some urban communities, Mr is often used along with only the first name to simultaneously indicate familiarity and respect; some children are encouraged to use this form when referring to or addressing adults. This has gone on to somewhat replace using the term "uncle" when referring to a friend of the family.

Historic etiquette

Historically, Mr, like Sir, once indicated an ill-defined social status only applied to gentlemen or persons at or above one's own station as a mark of respect. This understanding is all but obsolete today.

In past centuries, Mr was used with a first name to distinguish among family members who might otherwise be confused in conversation: Mr Smith would be the eldest present; younger brothers or cousins were then referred to as Mr James Smith and Mr Robert Smith and so on. Such usage survived longer in family-owned business or when domestic servants were referring to adult male family members with the same surname: "Mr Robert and Mr Richard will be out this evening, but Mr Edward is dining in," but such usage today is rare.

Professional titles

"Mr" is sometimes combined with certain titles (Mr President, Mr Speaker, Mr Justice, Mr Dean). The female equivalent is Madam. All of these except Mr Justice are used in direct address and without the name. The title Mr Justice is not used in direct address. In certain professional contexts in different regions, "Mr" has specific meanings; the following are some examples.

Military usage

In the United States Military, Warrant Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are addressed as Mister. In the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard it is proper use Mister to refer to commissioned officers below the rank of commander.

In the British Armed Forces, a Warrant Officer is addressed as "Sir" by Other Ranks and Non-Commissioned Officers; Commissioned Officers, particularly of junior rank, should address a Warrant Officer using his surname and the prefix Mister, for example Mr Smith, although often their rank or appointment is used, for example "Sergeant Major," "Regimental Sergeant Major,", or "RSM".

In the British Armed Forces a Subaltern is often referred to by his surname and the prefix Mister by both Other Ranks and more senior Commissioned Officers, e.g. "Report to Mister Smithe-Jones at once" rather than "Report to 2nd Lieutenant Smithe-Jones at once".

Judges

In the Courts of England and Wales, Judges of the High Court are called, for example, Mr Justice Crane (unless they are entitled to be addressed as Lord Justice). Where a forename is necessary to avoid ambiguity it is always used, for example Mr Justice Robert Goff to distinguish from a predecessor Mr Justice Goff. The female equivalent is Mrs Justice Hallett, not Madam Justice Hallett. When more than one judge is sitting and one needs to be specific, one would refer to My Lord, Mr Justice Crane. High Court Judges are entitled to be styled with the prefix The Honourable while holding office: e.g. the Honourable Mr Justice Robert Goff. In writing, such as in the law reports, the titles "Mr Justice" or "Mrs Justice" are both abbreviated to a "J" placed after the name. For example, Crane J would be substituted for Mr Justice Crane.^[5]

The Chief Justice of the United States may be referred to as either "Mr. Chief Justice" or "Chief Justice Roberts."

Surgeons

In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, and Australia, medical practitioners who have been admitted to any of the Royal Surgical Colleges discontinue use of the "Doctor" title and revert to using "Mr," "Miss" or "Mrs." This system (which applies only to surgeons, not physicians) has its origins in the 16th century, when surgeons were barber-surgeons and did not have a degree (or indeed any formal qualification), unlike physicians, who held a university medical degree.^{[citation needed]} Dental and Veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland also use the titles "Mr," "Mrs" or "Miss."

Catholic clerics

Among Catholic clergy, "Mr" is the correct title and form of address for seminarians and other students for the priesthood and was once the proper title for all secular and parish priests, the use of the title "Father" being reserved to religious clergy only. This is still the case on the continent of Europe but the use of the title "Father" for parish clergy became customary around the 1820s.^{[clarification needed]}

A diocesan seminarian is correctly addressed as "Mr," and once ordained a transitional deacon, is addressed in formal correspondence (though rarely in conversation) as the Reverend Mister (or "Rev. Mr"). In clerical religious orders (orders which include or are primarily made up of priests), Mr is the title given to scholastics. For instance, in the Jesuits, a man preparing for priesthood who has completed the novitiate but who is not yet ordained is properly, "Mr John Smith, SJ" and is addressed verbally as "Mister Smith"—this is to distinguish him from Jesuit brothers, and priests. (Although, before the 1820s, many Jesuit priests were also called "Mr".) Orders founded before the 16th century do not, as a rule, follow this practice: a Franciscan or Dominican, for instance, becomes a friar after novitiate and so is properly titled "Brother," or, if a cleric, "Father."

Permanent deacons are not to be styled "the Reverend Mr", but instead simply as "Deacon" or "the Reverend Deacon" followed by their first and last names (e.g., "Deacon John Jones".^[6] It is also customary in some places, especially in the Eastern Catholic Churches to address deacons while speaking, like presbyters, as "Father" or "Father Deacon".

Other usages

• "Mister" can also be used in combination with another word to refer to someone who is regarded as the personification of, or master of, a particular field or subject, especially in the fields of popular entertainment and sports, as Gordie Howe is referred to as "Mr. Hockey" or Reggie Jackson is known as "Mr. October."^[7]
• The husband of a famous woman is sometimes referred to with "Mr" prefixed to her name; e.g. Denis Thatcher was sometimes referred to as "Mr Margaret Thatcher." Such usage is not traditional and usually meant satirically.
• In Italian football, deference to a coach is shown by players, staff and fans referring to him as "Il Mister," or directly, "Mister." This is traditionally attributed to the conversion of the local game of Calcio to English-rules Association Football by British sailors, who would have been the first coaches.^[8]
• In the Netherlands the abbreviation "mr" (meester) is used as an academic title; Master of Laws or LL.M in English.

Foreign equivalents

See also: Slavic honorifics and Sri

• Afrikaans: Meneer (Mnr.)
• Amharic: አቶ (Ato)
• Albanian: Zotëri
• Arabic: سيد (Sayyid)
• Armenian: Պարոն (Paron, Eastern Armenian), Պարոն (Baron, Western Armenian)
• Azeri: Cənab
• Bengali: জনাব (Janab)
• Belarusian Спадар (Spadar), Пан (Pan)
• Bulgarian: Господин (Г-н, G-n) (Gospodin)
• Burmese: U
• Catalan: Senyor (Sr.)
• Chinese: 先生; Hanyu Pinyin: Xiānsheng; Tongyong Pinyin: sian1 sheng; Jyutping: sin1 saang1; Cantonese Yale: sīn sāang; Zhuyin Fuhao: ㄒ｜ㄢ ㄕㄥ
• Croatian: Gospodin (Gosp.)
• Czech: pan (p.)
• Dutch: De Heer, only when referred to in the third person and on envelopes; Meneer or Mijnheer (archaic), in all situations, but mostly in speech, except on envelopes; (Dhr. but not Mr. as this is an academic title.)
• Esperanto: Sinjoro (S-ro)
• Estonian: Härra (Hr.)
• Finnish: Herra (Hra)
• French: Monsieur (M. or, more rarely, M^r)
• Filipino: Ginoo (G.)
• Georgian: ბატონი (Batoni)
• German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish: Herr (Hr)
• Greek: Κύριος, Kýrios (literally: "Lord"), abbreviation: κ., k. – plural: Κύριοι, Kýrioi, abbreviation: κ.κ., k.k.. Unlike English practice, this style is never to be used for the deceased; in such cases styles of religious connotation ("blessed", "forgiven", etc) are used..
• Hebrew: אדון (Adon) or מר (Mar)
• Hindi: श्री (Shri)
• Hungarian: úr
• Icelandic: Herra (Hr.)
• Ido: Sioro (Sro.) is used to refer to any adult person, male or female, married or not. If it is necessary to indicate that the person in question is an adult male, then Siorulo (Srlo.) is used.
• Indonesian: Tuan (Tn.)
• Irish: An t-Uasal (An tUas.)
• Italian: Signore (Sig.)
• Japanese: Japanese honorifics are affixed to the end of a proper name or official title and are defined less by gender than by the relationship between the speaker and addressee. The most common, however, is -san (さん^?), itself derived from the more formal -sama (様^?). In newspapers and other (mostly written) contexts, the most common honorific used is the Chinese-based -shi (氏^?).
  For more details on this topic, see Japanese honorifics.
• Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ (Shree)
• Kazakh: Мырза (Myrza)
• Korean: the suffix 씨 (Hanja: 氏, McCune-Reischauer Ssi, pronounced somewhat like "shi"). Honorific form is 군 (gun), and the feminine form is 양 (yang).
• Kotava: weltikye
• Latvian: kungs (k-gs)
• Lithuanian: Ponas (p.)
• Macedonian:Господин (Gospodin), Г-дин (G-din)
• Maltese: Sinjur (Sur)
• Malay: Encik (En)
• Marathi: श्री (Shri)
• Norwegian: Herr (Hr.)
• Occitan: Sénher (Sr.)
• Oriya: Sriman
• Papiamento: Sr.
• Persian: آقا (Āqā)
• Polish: Pan (P.)
• Portuguese: Senhor (Sr.)
• Punjabi: ਸਰਦਰ (Sardar), ਸਦਰ (Sdr.)
• Romanian: Domn (D-n)
• Russian: Господин (Gospodin), Г-н (G-n)
• Sanskrit: महानुभाव (Mahānubhāva)
• Serbian: Господин (Gospodin), Г-дин (G-din)
• Sinhalese: මහතා (Mahatha)
• Slovak: pán (p.)
• Slovene: Gospod (g.)
• Spanish: Señor (Sr.)
• Somali: Seeydi
• Syriac: ܡܝܩܪܐ (Myaqro)
• Tamil: திரு (Thiru)
• Telugu: శ్రీ (Sri)
• Thai: นาย (Nai)
• Turkish: Bey (used after a first name, e.g. Mehmet Bey)
• Tswana: Rra
• Ukrainian: Пан (Pan)
• Urdu: ﺼﺎﺣﺐ (Sahib) used as a suffix after the name
• Vietnamese: ông
• Yiddish: רעב (Reb), abbreviated 'ר, used with the first name rather than the surname.

See also

• Doctor
• Master
• Father
• Shri
• Sheriff
• Lord
• Sir

References

1. ^ Oxford Dictionaries: "mister"
2. ^ American Heritage Dictionary
3. ^ Oxford Dictionaries: "Messrs"
4. ^ http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/columns/missmanners/story/801270.html
5. ^ Sutherland, Douglas (1978). The English Gentleman. Debrett's Peerage Ltd.. ISBN 0-905649-18-4. 
6. ^ USCCB, National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States §88. Washington: 2005.
7. ^ When does a doctor become a mister?. International Journal of Cardiology, Volume 117, Issue 3, Page 403. T. Cheng
8. ^ "A–Z of Italian Football". fourfourtwo.com. http://fourfourtwo.com/travel/italy/a-zofitalianfootball/default.aspx. Retrieved July 2010.