General Usage of Some Common Titles
- Ms: (/ˈmɪz/ or /mɨz/) - for women, regardless of marital status.
- Miss: for use by unmarried women.
- Mrs: (/ˈmɪsɨz/ or /ˈmɪsɨs/) - for use by married women.
- Mr: Mister - for men.
- Master: - for boys or very young men. Rarely used except in very formal address.
- Sir: - for men, if they have an English knighthood, or as a term of general respect or flattery. Police for instance use it to calm someone down so they will obey more readily, e.g. "Sir, stay back."
- Madam or Madame: for women, a term of respect or flattery. Equivalent to "sir".
- Lord Highest respect for a male outside the "immediate" royal family. (Style: Lordship or My Lord)
- Lady Highest respect for a female outside the "immediate" royal family. (Style: Your Ladyship or My Lady)
- Bro.: Brother - for men in religious organizations; in the Catholic church, for monks.
- Dr: Doctor - a person who has obtained a doctorate, such as the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). In the Commonwealth holders of a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS or MBChB) are entitled to call themselves 'Doctor'.
- Rev: Reverend - for Christian clergy
- Fr: Father - for priests in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, and some Anglican or Episcopalian groups
- Sr: Sister - Nun or other religious sister in the Catholic Church; for women generally in some religious organizations, such as the Mormons.
- Adv.or Counsellor : Advocate - Lawyers & Advocates. (Not used in the United States or United Kingdom.)
Read more about this topic: English Honorifics
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