Mr.

"Mister" and "Mr" redirect here. For other uses, seeMister (disambiguation)andMR (disambiguation).

Mister,usually written in its contracted formMr.orMr,is a commonly usedEnglish honorificfor men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office.The titleMrderived from earlier forms ofmaster,as the equivalent female titlesMrs,Miss,andMsall derived from earlier forms ofmistress.Masteris sometimes still used as an honorific forboysand young men.

The modern plural form isMisters,although its usual formal abbreviationMessrs(.)derives from use of the French titlemessieursin the 18th century.Messieursis the plural ofmonsieur(originallymon sieur,"mylord"), formed bydecliningboth of its constituent parts separately.

Historical etiquette

Historically,misterwas applied only to those above one's own status if they had no higher title such asSirormylordin the English class system. That understanding is now obsolete, as it was gradually expanded as a mark of respect to those of equal status and then to all men without a higher style.

In the 19th century and earlier in Britain, two gradations of "gentleman" were recognised; the higher was entitled to use "esquire"(usually abbreviated to Esq, which followed the name), and the lower employed" Mr "before the name. Today, on correspondence fromBuckingham Palace,a man who is a UK citizen is addressed withpost-nominal"Esq.", and a man of foreign nationality is addressed with prefix "Mr".

In past centuries,Mrwas used with a first name to distinguish among family members who might otherwise be confused in conversation:Mr Doewould be the eldest present; younger brothers or cousins were then referred to asMr Richard DoeandMr William Doeand so on. Such usage survived longer in family-owned business or whendomestic servantswere 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." In other circumstances, similar usage to indicate respect combined with familiarity is common in mostanglophonecultures, including that of the southern United States.

Professional titles

Mris sometimes combined with certain titles (Mr President,Mr Speaker,Mr Justice,MrDean). The feminine equivalent is usuallyMadamalthoughMrsis also used in some contexts. All of these exceptMr Justiceare used in direct address and without the name. In certain professional contexts in different regions,Mrhas specific meanings; the following are some examples.

Medicine

In the United Kingdom, Ireland and in someCommonwealthcountries (such as South Africa, New Zealand and some states of Australia), manysurgeonsuse the titleMr(orMiss,Ms,Mrs,as appropriate), rather thanDr(Doctor). Until the 19th century, earning a medical degree was not required to become a surgeon. Hence, the modern practice of reverting fromDrtoMrafter successfully completing qualifying exams in surgery (e.g.,Membership of the Royal College of Surgeonsor theRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons) is a historical reference to the origins of surgery in the United Kingdom as non-medically qualifiedbarber surgeons.

Military usage

In theUnited States Army,malewarrant officersare addressed as "Mister", while female warrant officers are addressed as "Miss" or "Missus", as appropriate.In theUS Navy,it was once customary to addresscommissioned officersbelow the rank ofcommander(O-5) as "Mister"; this practice ended in 1973 after an update of theNavy Regulations,which standardised addressing all officers by rank.

In theBritish Armed Forces,a malewarrant officeris addressed asSirby other ranks and non-commissioned officers; commissioned officers, particularly of junior rank, should address awarrant officerusingMisterand his surname, although often their rank or appointment is used, for example "Sergeant Major", "Regimental Sergeant Major", or "RSM".

In theBritish Armed Forcesasubalternis often referred to by his surname and the prefixMisterby both other ranks and more senior commissioned officers, e.g. "Report to Mister Smythe-Jones" rather than "Report to 2nd Lieutenant Smythe-Jones".

Judges

In thecourts of England and Wales,Judges of the High Court are called, for example,Mr Justice Craneunless they are entitled to be addressed asLord Justice.Where a forename is necessary to avoid ambiguity it is always used, for exampleMr Justice Robert Goffto distinguish from a predecessorMr Justice Goff.The female equivalent isMrs Justice Hallett,notMadam Justice Hallett.When more than one judge is sitting and there is need to be specific, the form of address isMy Lord, Mr Justice Crane.High Court Judges are entitled to be styled with the prefixThe Honourablewhile 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 Jwould be substituted forMr Justice Crane.Female judges are still properly addressed "My Lord", but "My Lady" is acceptable in modern usage.

TheChief Justice of the United Statesmay be referred to as either "Mr Chief Justice", or "Chief Justice". For example, "Mr Chief Justice Roberts" or "Chief Justice Roberts".

Catholic clerics

AmongCatholicclergy, "Mr" is the correct honorific and form of address for seminarians and other students for the priesthood. It was once the proper title for allsecular clergy,including parish priests, the use of the title "Father" being reserved toreligious clergy( "regulars" )only.The use of the title "Father" for parish clergy became customary around the 1820s.

A diocesan seminarian is correctly addressed as "Mr", and onceordaineda transitional deacon, is addressed in formal correspondence (though rarely in conversation) as the Reverend Mister (or "Rev. Mr" ). In clericalreligious institutes(those primarily made up of priests), Mr is the title given to scholastics. For instance, in theJesuits,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: aFranciscanorDominican,for instance, becomes a friar after novitiate and so is properly titled "Brother" or, if a priest, "Father".

Permanentdeaconsin the United States are styled as "Deacon" or "the Reverend Deacon" followed by their first and last names (e.g. "Deacon John Jones", rather than "the Reverend Mr" ).It is also customary in some places, especially in theEastern 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.
• InItalian 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 ofcalcioto English-rulesassociation footballby British sailors, who would have been the first coaches.
• In the old Dutch title system the title "Mr" is used for aMaster of Laws (LLM).

See also

• Milord
• Slavic honorifics
• Sri