Mister

Mister

Noun / Title · /ˈmɪs.tər/

Definition

A title of courtesy placed before a man's name or a professional designation, abbreviated as Mr; used colloquially to address or refer to an unknown or unnamed man.

Origin

A weakened form of master, from Old French maistre, from Latin magister (chief, director, teacher), related to magnus (great). Master became mister through the process of reduction — the unstressed initial syllable being weakened in informal and rapid speech from the 16th century onward. The abbreviation Mr (without a full stop in British English; Mr. in American English) was established by the 17th century. The word master itself surviving alongside mister as a separate word, now used for boys and in some professional contexts.