subject: Mister (mr.) - Leather Digital Watch Manufacturer - Digital Display Watches Manufacturer [print this page] Usage Usage
When addressing someone directly, Mr is usually used with the last name only ("May I help you, Mr Ericson?"). In other circumstances, it can be used with either the last name or the full name ("This is Mr James Ericson."; "Would you please help Mr Ericson?"). 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, to many people such usage sounds rude, or makes the speaker seem uneducated. Rather, the term "Sir" is preferred in this case.
All males in the United States may use the title socially, even if one holds a professional, political, or other title, such as "Dr." which some also use in social circumstances. In countries with formal class structures, the title "Mister" may be taken as an insult or considered improper if used to refer to a person who holds a title which is considered socially higher.
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 indicate familiarity and respect. Some children are encouraged to use this form when referring to or addressing adults.
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: r. Robert and Mr. Richard will be out this evening, but Mr. Edward is dining in, but such usage today is rare.
Historic etiquette
Historically, Mr, like Sir, once indicated an ill-defined social status only applied to gentlemen or persons above one's own station as a mark of respect. This understanding is all but obsolete today.
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.
Warrant officers
In the United States Military with the exception of the Air Force, Warrant Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are addressed as Mister. In the British Armed Forces, a Warrant Officer is addressed as Staff (Army) or Chief (Royal Navy) by non-officers, and 'Mr Smith' (for example) by commissioned officers.
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.
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. Veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland adopt the titles "Mr", "Mrs" or "Miss".
Roman Catholic clerics
Among Roman 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 deacon, is addressed in formal correspondence (though rarely in conversation) as the Reverend Mister (or "The 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".
In the Catholic Church, permanent deacons (that is, deacons who are not preparing for ordination to priesthood) are styled "the Reverend Mr" in correspondence, although it has also become customary to address them simply as "Deacon John Jones".
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."
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.
Foreign equivalents
See also: Slavic honorifics
Afrikaans: Meneer (Mnr.)
Amharic: Ato
Albanian: Zotri
Arabic: (Sayyid)
Armenian: (Paron, Eastern Armenian), (Baron, Western Armenian)
Azeri: Cnab
Belarusian (Spadar), (Pan)
Bulgarian: (- G-n) (Gospodin)
Catalan: Senyor (Sr.)
Chinese: (Xinsheng)
Croatian: Gospodin (Gosp.)
Czech: pan (p.)
Dutch: De Heer, only when referred to in the third person and on envelopes; Mijnheer (meneer), in all situations, but mostly in speech, except on envelopes; (Dhr.but NOT Mr. as this is an academic title.)
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: {{{2}}} (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 (?), itself derived from the more formal -sama (?). In newspapers and other (mostly written) contexts, the most common honorific used is the Chinese-based -shi (?).
For more details on this topic, see Japanese honorifics.
Kannada: (Shree)
Kazakh: (Myrza)
Korean: the suffix (Hanja: , McCune-Reischauer Ssi, pronounced somewhat like the letter "C"). Honorific form is (gun), and the feminine form is (yang).
Kotava: weltikye
Latvian: kungs (k-gs)
Lithuanian: Ponas (p.)
Macedonian: (- G-din) (Gospodin)
Maltese: Sinjur (Sur)
Malay: Encik (En)
Marathi: (Shri)
Occitan: Snher (Sr.)
Oriya: (Sriman)
Persian: (q)
Polish: Pan (P.)
Portuguese: Senhor (Sr.)
Punjabi: Sardar ( Sdr.)
Romanian: Domn (D-n)
Russian: (- G-n) (Gospodin)
Sanskrit: (Mahnubhva)
Serbian: (- G-din) (Gospodin)
Sinhalese: (Mahatha)
Slovak: pn (p.)
Spanish: Seor (Sr.)
Somali: Seeydi
Swedish: Herr
Tamil: (Thiru)
Telugu: (Sri)
Thai: (Nai)
Turkish: Bey
Ukrainian: (Pan)
Urdu: (Sahib) used as a suffix after the name
Vietnamese: ng
Yiddish: (Reb), abbreviated ', used with the first name rather than the surname.
See also
Look up mister (mr.) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
^ Sutherland, Douglas (1978). The English Gentleman. Debrett's Peerage Ltd.. ISBN 0-905649-18-4.
^ When does a doctor become a mister?. International Journal of Cardiology, Volume 117, Issue 3, Pages 403-403. T. Cheng
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Primary social titles in English
Feminine
Miss Mrs. Ms. Madam Dame Lady
Masculine
Mr. (Mister) Master Esq. (Esquire) Sir Lord
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