Don (honorific)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Don, from Latin dominus, is a Spanish (pron. IPA: [d̪on]) and Portuguese (Dom, IPA: [dõ]) honorific title. It is usually used as a mark of high esteem for a distinguished Christian hidalgo or fidalgo; that is, a nobleman. In English "Don" is usually preceded by a definite article ("the").

Its abbreviation, particularly in Portuguese, is "D." It is still used in reference to priests, like the French Dom. The treatment was reserved for those who had royal or some higher old noble ancestry, as well as some title bearers who had their title without needing but the King's confirmation instead of authorization, the so called titles de Juro e Herdade. In Brazil it was not used in reference to nobles, but was used to refer to royals (both to the monarch and to princes), and, in the ranks of the clergy, it is only used to refer to Bishops or other senior ecclesiastical hierachs.

The use is roughly comparable to the style The Honourable of British custom, but closer to Lord or Lady, although the analogy is a loose one, at best. The female version is Doña (Spanish, pron. IPA: ['d̪o.ɲa]) and Dona (Portuguese, pron. IPA: ['do.nɐ]) abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D.".

Don/Dom or Doña/Dona is attached to a person's given name. For example, if Señor Diego de la Vega is to be addressed as a don, then the correct form of address would not be "Don de la Vega", but "Don Diego de la Vega" or simply "Don Diego".

At Oxford and Cambridge universities, members of the academic staff are often referred to as a Don. In practice within Oxford it is used to refer to fellows of the colleges. At Cambridge it is rarely, if ever, used.

In North America, Don is sometimes used as an honorific for a Mafia crime boss, having its origins on the same honorific treatment came from Southern Italy, where Spanish influence was large.

In Spain the title is used to refer to a graduate of High School. Nowadays it is used as a standard title in mailing addresses, similarly as Mister is in English, but attached to the given name and generally preceded by the acronym Sr. (for Señor): Sr. Don Diego de la Vega or simply Don Diego de la Vega. The correct form of use of the treatment is Don for the Royals, Grandees of Spain and his relatives, and don as a courtesy respectful treatment for everyone else of some position. In Portugal, the feminin form has been used as a compliment for elderly women irrespectively of birth and rank, but is often seen as an ageing treatment.

In Italy, it is the style to address a noble (as distinct from reigning) prince (principe) or duke (duca), and their children and agnatic descendants. Its feminine is donna. It is also used to refer to a priest, or, less commonly, to monks.

In some Latin American countries, Don/Dom or Doña/Dona is used to refer to aged people as a substitute to the more common "Señor" or "Señora".

Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.