When I was 17.
The only time I’ve heard (seen) it used was in addressing formal invitations to weddings & similar events, where the Bride insisted that the envelope listed both the parents names and their minor child.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but since we’re talking about titles (for lack of a better word off the top of my head) granted for degrees, wouldn’t your hypothetical only be relevant only if the person under 18 had a master’s degree? Which, I put it to you, would be pretty darned unlikely (with the possible exception of Ilsa_Lund; whatever happened to him, anyway?)…
As far as I have seen, bachelor’s and master’s degrees do not, in practice, grant their holder any social title, much less the expectation that someone will use a title derived from the type of degree held.
It’s worth noting that in the UK, most medical doctors do not have a doctoral degree, but a Bachelor of Medicine. Plus, for historical reasons, surgeons call themselves Mr/Mrs.
True story: A woman I know gave a talk at U. Vienna and was introduced as
Professor Doktor Frau Professor Doktor Doktor HerName
Explanation: she was indeed a professor with a PhD, but her husband was a professor with two PhDs.
I’ve seen it in 19th-century US newspaper/magazine articles, too. References to “Mrs Col Smith,” &c.
Had a friend whos last name was Bator. We were careful to refer to him as master.
A JD does, but it comes after the name, and one does not use it when referring to oneself.
I’ve hear lawyers refered to as Attorney Lastname occasionally (my parents and grandparents do that alot), but I’ve never heard a lawyer call eirself that or use it in writing. Perhaps it was more common in the past?
In the US only lawyers get “Esq” or “Esquire” tacked on to their names.
As for “Master”, if I remember correctly, the butler on the show “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” referred to the main character as “Master William”.
As mentioned earlier, “Master” is the correct form of address for a young man under 18. The butler could not call him "Mister … " and could not call him “Will,” as that would not have been respectful, so he properly called him “Master William.”
It may be old fashioned, but it is still correct.
I was reading something recently (Don Quixote maybe?) where one of the characters was refered to as Bachelor So-and-so, as he was educated at a university, so it may have been common in the past in some areas of Europe if it what I was reading was correct on that account.
Did you read it in English? If so it might have been the translator’s attempt to translate Licenciado which is a common form of adress in Spanish for holders of an undergrad degree.
Yes I did, and that makes sense.
I have used “Master” on an envelope for someone under the age of 18, but that springs from my stickler-for-the-rules days. In the early Seventies I was liberated and now I chose whatever the mood of the moment suggests. I am much more informal unless it’s autumn and I’ve been wearing tweed and watching British TV.
I’d never heard it myself, outside of Latin classes, but now that I have, I fully intend to use it.
–Magister Chronos
Re archaic usage was “wife-mistress” ever a valid title for a woman?
Yet, the sheepskin is there to limit performance.
Whut?
It seems rather evident that a bachelor’s degree would belong to a bachelor. :dubious:
Yes, Mistress was a common term for any woman, married or single. In the 18th century it split into Missus/Mrs for married women and Miss for unmarried women.