0
Usenet Posted 23 years ago
Usage

Obscure titles

I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'. Can this be abbreviated, in the same way Mister(Mr.) and Misses(Mrs.) are? how?
Are there any other titles, like this, which have fallen out of use? What are they? And why have they fallen out of favor?

And why, unlike every other title, does Esquire follow the name it is attached to, instead of preceding it?
  

Top answer

On 20 Nov 2003 12:03:21 -0800, guy-jin (Email Removed) wrote, in part: [nq:1]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'. ) are? [/nq] I've seen it used.

  • On 20 Nov 2003 12:03:21 -0800, guy-jin (Email Removed) wrote, in part: [nq:1]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'.
  • ) are?
  • [/nq] I've seen it used.
  • I was born in 1978.
  • ".
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

55 Answers
0
On 20 Nov 2003 12:03:21 -0800, guy-jin (Email Removed) wrote, in part:
[nq:1]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'. Can this be abbreviated, in the same way Mister(Mr.) and Misses(Mrs.) are? how?[/nq]
I've seen it used. I was born in 1978.
I think I've seen it abbreviated "Mr.".
Michael Hamm Since mid-September of 2003,
0
[nq:1]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'. Can this be abbreviated, ... favor? And why, unlike every other title, does Esquire follow the name it is attached to, instead of preceding it?[/nq]
My son used to play cricket for an under-14 team. Letters from the cricket club were addressed with Master (this is only a couple of years ago).
0
[nq:1]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'.[/nq]
You don't hear it much these days, but it used to be quite common.

This is Mr. and Mrs. Bates, and their son, Master Bates.
0
[nq:2]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'.[/nq]
[nq:1]You don't hear it much these days, but it used to be quite common. This is Mr. and Mrs. Bates, and their son, Master Bates.[/nq]

Well, we'll soon cure him of that.

David
==
0
[nq:1]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'. Can this be abbreviated, in the same way Mister(Mr.) and Misses(Mrs.) are? how? Are there any other titles, like this, which have fallen out of use? What are they?[/nq]
"Miss" is a lot more rare than it used to be.
[nq:1]And why have they fallen out of favor?[/nq]
Because women decided t
0
[nq:1]I only recently discovered there was a form of address specifically for young men - 'master'. Can this be abbreviated, in the same way Mister(Mr.) and Misses(Mrs.) are? how?[/nq]
Mrs is "Missus". "Misses" is the plural of "Miss", used when writing to more than one girl of the same family, as in "The Misses Smith".

I am not aware of any common abbreviation of "Master", but if I h
0
[nq:2]You don't hear it much these days, but it used to be quite common. This is Mr. and Mrs. Bates, and their son, Master Bates.[/nq]
[nq:1] Well, we'll soon cure him of that. [/nq]
Ithankyewverymuch
0
[nq:1]Now we have the revolting "Ms", which isn't really short for anything.[/nq]
I fail to see why it is revolting save perhaps in a literal sense of signifying a revolt but such issues aside, surely it signifies "Mistress"? (Though, unlike the other abbreviated forms, it is never spoken in full.)
"Mistress", if I understand aright, was once the innocuous social title(1) for any woman. (I
0
Yes.
[nq:1]And "Sister" (an old religious title) is still used for some nurses in the UK, though maybe not all.[/nq]
Sister is a UK nursing grade and still very much with us - it is a sort of Sergeant level of grade. Male nurses of the same grade are called Charge Nurse.
[nq:2]And why, unlike every other title, does Esquire follow the name it is attached to, instead of preceding it?[/n
0
[nq:2]You don't hear it much these days, but it used to be quite common. This is Mr. and Mrs. Bates, and their son, Master Bates.[/nq]
[nq:1] Well, we'll soon cure him of that. [/nq]
It's cheaper in the long run to wear the ****** spectacles.

wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Quiet part of Hertfordshire
England

Related Questions