Honorific titles

An honorific is a title that conveys esteem or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It is also often conflated with systems of honorific speech in linguistics, which are grammatical or morphological ways of encoding the relative social status of speakers.

Typically, honorifics are used as a style in the grammatical third person, and as a form of address in the second person. Use in the first person, by the honored dignitary, is uncommon or considered very rude and egotistical. Some languages have anti-honorific (despective or humilific) first person forms (expressions such as "your most humble servant" or "this unworthy person") whose effect is to enhance the relative honor accorded to the person addressed.

The most common honorifics in modern English are usually placed immediately before a person's name. Honorifics which can be used (both as style and as form of address) include, in the case of a man, "Mr" (irrespective of marital status), and in the case of a woman the honorific may depend on her marital status: if she is unmarried, it is "Miss", if she has been married it is "Mrs", and if her marital status is unknown, or it is not desired to specify it, "Ms". Someone who does not want to express a gender with their honorific may occasionally use Mx, Ind. or Misc..

In the U.S., these terms are styled with a period ("Mr." or "Mrs.") because they were originally abbreviations (of "Mister" and "Mistress"). "Ms." is also styled with a period for consistency. In Great Britain, periods are typically not used.

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