How did the Romance languages come to use derivatives of senior, señor, senhor, seigneur, signor (I don't know if this is true of Romanian as well), to mean Lord? Apparently the same thing happened with the German Herr (which originally meant older, more venerable).
The Lain senior is a comparative, and it goes along with junior. Was it used as a form of address or honorific by the ancient Romans? (What about senator, meaning "elder"?) It is not quite the same as superior/inferior, though in a society where age is a basis of respect, one who is senior is also a social superior, though he may not be superior with respect to virtue.
Mister, on the other hand, is derived from master (which is derived from magister).
Would it not have been better to keep some derivative from dominus [or the Greek kyrios] (from which Don and Dom are derived) for "Lord"?
How is a temporal lord "lord"? Someone who holds power and authority? Christ warns us not to lord authority over others like the Gentiles, but He does not do away with authority either.
Is the dignity of a person derived from the dignity of the office that person holds or the function he performs? It would seem that if there are to be any hierarchies at all, they should be based on function or virtue. No one is intrinsically better than another, in so far as virtue is not innate but acquired. Some may have better gifts or talents than others, and while this is a basis for respect, it is not for that respect which is based on virtue alone.
Is it possible to delegate a certain function to a group of people so that no one else could rightfully exercise that function?
If a function or office is given to someone precisely because merit [virtue], then one would give that person respect both because of the office and his personal virtue. If, however, it is inherited, or given on some basis other than virtue, the respect that is due would be because of the office alone? (It is therefore important to take their office away from those who are incompetent or vicious, lest the office itself, and the system of which it is a part, become despised.)
Those who hold office or are more virtuous are owed something more than those who do not or are not virtuous, in accordance with distributive justice. But what is owed to them is given from what is held in common, not from what is held by individuals. Hierarchy does not legitimize abuse or tyranny or transform the relation between citizens to one between a master and his slave.
Is Christianity reconcilable with extreme hierarchy? Would one find such an extreme in a flourishing polity/city-republic, where military virtue predominates, and aristocractic virtue is spread out among the populace? Were such titles used between citizens in ancient Rome and Sparta? How did Athenian citizens address one another? Simply by their first name, such as it is recorded in Plato's dialogues? Did they make other social distinctions (for example, based on age) in the way they addressed or behaved towards one another?
According to wikipedia, sir "was once used (without the person's name) as a courtesy title among equals"--is this how it is understood in the South? Or is it used rather for one's superiors? That's the connotation it has in my mind. It seems better than using "citizen" like in Revolutionary France.
Radical egalitarianism combined with social atomism (or pride?) destroys these sorts of distinctions which are necessary for that virtue allied to justice known as respect or observance, observantia.
Wikipedia entries:
Mr.
Sir
Lord
Lady
Highness
Don (honorific) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Honorific - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nobility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patrician - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spanish nobility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greek kyrios - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Other links
Obligations of Nobility
A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal and Imperial Titles
The etymology of Sir.
Italian Titles of Nobility
Italian Titles of Nobility - Regalis
ItalianGenealogy.com » Noticias » Italian Heraldry, Nobility and ...
BBC - h2g2 - European Feudal Nobility
The Oracle - Titles of Nobility
Medieval titles in England
Medieval Society
Noble Titles in Spain and Spanish Grandees: Regulations
Byzantine Heraldry
Duenna — Infoplease.com
For comparison:
Chinese honorifics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chinese titles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Korean honorifics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese honorifics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese titles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
31 Please Tell Me About Japanese Honorifics And Terms Of Address
languagehat.com: JAPANESE HONORIFICS FADING.
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