DEPEECIATION OF HONOKATJY TITLES. Y5 



Beauieu, and the like," and as it has been commonly used 

 to monarchs, our word jSir, which is derived from it, ori- 

 ginally meant lord or king. Thus, too, is it with feminine 

 titles. Lady^ which, according to Home Tooke, means eX' 

 alted^ and was at first given only to the few, is now given 

 to all women of education. Danie^ once an honourable 

 name to which, in old books, we find the epithets of " high- 

 born " and " stately " affixed, has now, by repeated widen- 

 iugs of its ajjplication, become relatively a term of contempt. 

 And if we trace the compound of this, ma Dame^ through 

 its contractions — 3Iadam^ ma'ams mam^ mum^ we find that 

 the " Yes'm " of Sally to her mistress is originally equiva- 

 lent to "Yes, my exalted," or "Yes, your highness." 

 Throughout, therefore, the genesis of words of honour has 

 been the same. Just as with the Jews and with the Ro- 

 mans, has it been with the modern Europeans. Tracing 

 these everyday names to their primitive significations ot 

 lord and king, and remembering that in aboriginal societies 

 these were applied only to the gods and their descendants, 

 we arrive at the conclusion that our familiar jSir and Moti- 

 sieiir are, in their primary and expanded meanings, terms 

 of adoration. 



Further to illustrate this gradual depreciation of titles, 

 and to confirm the inference drawn, it may be well to no- 

 tice in i^assing, that the oldest of them have, as might be 

 expected, been depreciated to the greatest extent. Thus, 

 Master — a word proved by its derivation and by the simi- 

 larity of the connate words in other languages (Fr., maitre 

 for master ; Russ., master ; Dan., meester ; Ger., meister) 

 to have been one of the earliest in use for expressing 

 lordship — has now become applicable to children only, 

 and under the modification of " Mister," to persons next 

 above the labourer. Again, knighthood, the oldest kind 

 of dignity, is also the lowest ; and Knight Bachelor, which 

 IS the lowest order of kniohthood, is more ancient than 



