Pre-nominal letters are a
titleA title is a prefix or suffix added to a person's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
which is placed
before the name of a person as distinct from a
post-nominalPost-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials or post-nominal titles, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters...
title which is placed
after the name. Examples of pre-nominal titles, for instance professional titles include:
DoctorDoctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word which means teacher. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university...
,
CaptainThe army rank of Captain is an officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically the commander, or second in command, of a company or squadron...
, Eur Ing (European Engineer), Ir (
IngenieurEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
) and
ProfessorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
; whilst other common social titles are
Mr."Mister" is the most commonly used English honorific for men. The title derived from Master, as the equivalent female titles, Mrs, Miss, and Ms, all derived from the archaic Mistress. The title Master was retained and used for boys and young men, but is now rarely used.In writing, "Mister" is...
,
MasterMaster is an English title.- In English and Welsh society :Master was used in England for men of some rank, especially "free masters" of a trade guild and by any manual worker or servant employee to his employer , but also generally by those lower in status to gentlemen, priests or scholars...
, The Honorable,
Ms.Ms or Ms. is an English honorific used with the last name or full name of a woman. According to The Emily Post Institute, Ms...
,
Mrs.Mrs or Mrs. is an English honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title, such as “Dr”, “Lady” or “Dame”. The pronunciation varies regionally but is usually...
and
MissMiss is an English language honorific traditionally used only for an unmarried woman . Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress, which was used for all women. A period is not used to signify the contraction...
. Pre-nominal letters are generally
socialThe term Social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
, but can be
professionalA professional is a member of a vocation founded upon specialised educational training.The word professional traditionally means a person who has obtained a degree in a professional field...
in nature (e.g.
Pre-nominal letters are a
titleA title is a prefix or suffix added to a person's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
which is placed
before the name of a person as distinct from a
post-nominalPost-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials or post-nominal titles, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters...
title which is placed
after the name. Examples of pre-nominal titles, for instance professional titles include:
DoctorDoctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word which means teacher. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docēre . It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university...
,
CaptainThe army rank of Captain is an officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically the commander, or second in command, of a company or squadron...
, Eur Ing (European Engineer), Ir (
IngenieurEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
) and
ProfessorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
; whilst other common social titles are
Mr."Mister" is the most commonly used English honorific for men. The title derived from Master, as the equivalent female titles, Mrs, Miss, and Ms, all derived from the archaic Mistress. The title Master was retained and used for boys and young men, but is now rarely used.In writing, "Mister" is...
,
MasterMaster is an English title.- In English and Welsh society :Master was used in England for men of some rank, especially "free masters" of a trade guild and by any manual worker or servant employee to his employer , but also generally by those lower in status to gentlemen, priests or scholars...
, The Honorable,
Ms.Ms or Ms. is an English honorific used with the last name or full name of a woman. According to The Emily Post Institute, Ms...
,
Mrs.Mrs or Mrs. is an English honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title, such as “Dr”, “Lady” or “Dame”. The pronunciation varies regionally but is usually...
and
MissMiss is an English language honorific traditionally used only for an unmarried woman . Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress, which was used for all women. A period is not used to signify the contraction...
. Pre-nominal letters are generally
socialThe term Social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
, but can be
professionalA professional is a member of a vocation founded upon specialised educational training.The word professional traditionally means a person who has obtained a degree in a professional field...
in nature (e.g. Eur Ing).
Academic degrees
In some
Continental EuropeContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. Notably, in British and Irish English usage, the term means Europe excluding the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel...
an countries all
academic degreeA degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study.- History :...
s were traditionally pre-nominal.
For example, pre-nominal academic degrees in German-speaking countries include:
Dipl.-Ing.An engineer's degree refers to a various number of academic degrees relating to engineering:-In Europe:In Europe, it can be an approximately five-year degree roughly equivalent to a master's degree....
(Engineer's Degree),
Dipl.-Kfm.Diplom is an academic degree in some European countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece and Hungary...
(Master's degree in management),
Dipl.-Phys. (Master's degree in physics),
Dr.-Ing. (German doctorate in engineering),
Ing. (awarded under a law called Ingenieur Gesetz),
Dr.med. (German
M.D.The Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians...
) and
Mag. (Austrian Master's degree (Magister) in all disciplines except engineering). Pursuant to the
Bologna processThe purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
, most of these pre-nominal degrees will be replaced by post-nominal Bachelor's and Master's degrees; but people who held academic degrees before the Bologna process may continue to use the pre-nominal academic degrees.
See also
- Suffix
A name suffix, in the Western English-language naming tradition, follows a person’s full name and provides additional information about the person. Post-nominal letters indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office or honour.- Academic :Academic suffixes...
- Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to a person's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
- Honorific
An honorific is a word or expression that conveys esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes the term is used not quite correctly to refer to a title of honor...