''Senhor'' (, abb. ''Sr.''; plural: ''senhores'', abb. ''Sr.^es'' or ''Srs.''), from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''Senior'' (comparative of '' Senex'', "old man"), is the Portuguese word for

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...

, sir or mister. Its feminine form is ''senhora'' (, abb. ''Sr.^a'' or ''Sra.''; plural: ''senhoras'', abb. ''Sr.^as'' or ''Sras.''). The term is related to Spanish ''señor'', Catalan ''senyor'', Occitan ''sénher'', French ''seigneur'', and Italian ''signore''. Originally it was only used to designate a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

lord or

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" ...

, as well as being one of the names of God. With time its usage spread and, as means of differentiation, noble people began to use ''Senhor Dom X'' (as when referring to the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

s or members of the high nobility), which translates literally in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

as "The Lord, Lord X". In 1597, King Philip I issued a decree standardizing the noble styles in use in the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kn ...

. ''Sua Senhoria'' (translated as ''His Lordship'' or ''Her Ladyship'') was the prescribed manner of address to archbishops (with the exception of the Archbishop of Braga who, due to his rank as Primate of Hispania, was entitled to the style of ''Sua Senhoria Reverendíssima'', or ''His Most Reverend Lordship''), bishops, dukes (with the exception of the Duke of Braganza, who was to be addressed as ''Sua Excelência'',

Your Excellency Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the rig ...

, same as the King's grandchildren) and their children, marquesses, counts, the

Prior of Crato The Prior of Crato (''Prior do Crato''), was the traditional title given to the head of the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (Hospitaller) in Portugal. It is a reference to the domains of the order around Crato, Portugal. The Port ...

, viceroys and governors (when not related to the King), and other high authorities of the Kingdom (such as judges or ambassadors). After 1739, as

Grandee Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ...

s (dukes, marquesses, counts) were given the style of address of ''Sua Excelência'', the use of ''Sua Senhoria'' became restricted to address the lesser ranks of titled nobility (viscounts and barons), the legitimate sons and daughters of titled nobility, occupants of some offices at court, diplomats, some other authorities, and canons. Presently it is used in the same context as mister (''senhor Silva'', or ''Sr. Silva'', meaning "Mr. Silva"), or as a way of saying a formal " you" (''O senhor tem uma casa'' meaning "You (male) have a house"). In formal contexts ''o senhor, a senhora, os senhores'' and ''as senhoras'' (masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural "you", respectively) are preferred. However, there is considerable regional variation in the use of these terms, and more specific forms of address are sometimes employed. ''O senhor'' and ''a senhora'' are the most ceremonious forms of address. English speakers may find the latter construction akin to the parliamentary convention of referring to fellow legislators in the third person (as "my colleague", "the gentleman", "the member", etc.), although the level of formality conveyed by o senhor is not as great. In fact, variants of ''o senhor'' and ''a senhora'' with more nuanced meanings such as ''o professor'' ("professor"), ''o colega'' ("colleague") and ''o pai'' ("father") are also employed as personal pronouns. Often ''senhor'' is followed by another title or job description, such as doctor (''senhor doutor''),

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

(''senhor engenheiro''),

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

(''senhor professor''), or

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

(''senhor polícia''), thus conveying a high level of formality. Traditionally, but not presently, the feminine form ''senhora'' was only used for a married woman (a single woman was addressed formally as ''menina'', "young girl", in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

or by the diminutive ''senhorita'', "little lady", in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

References

{{Reflist Honorifics Portuguese language Men's social titles

See also

References