ChatterBank2 mins ago
Master
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I was in the surgery this morning when a man came in with his toddler. When it flashed up on the screen the lad was described as Master... This got me thinking. When I was young any mail (usually birthday cards) was addressed to Master Jackdaw. Is this still in common usage? At what point does a Master become a Mr? As Mister is merely a corruption of master what is the difference anyway?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I have used 'Master' to address correspondence to youngsters in the past but I now see little point.
For example, I used to address mail to an adult as to 'Mr J Smith' (or 'J. Smith, Esq') but now I'll probably just put 'John Smith'. Since I no longer use a title for his father, it seems illogical to use one for a child.
Debrett makes no mention of forms of address for children but I note that omitting any form of title (on an envelope) for an adult is now considered to be acceptable:
http:// www.deb retts.c om/form s-addre ss/titl es/unti tled-me n
(It would thus seem to follow that no title is now required when sending correspondence to a child).
Possibly also relevant:
https:/ /en.wik ipedia. org/wik i/Maste r_%28fo rm_of_a ddress% 29
For example, I used to address mail to an adult as to 'Mr J Smith' (or 'J. Smith, Esq') but now I'll probably just put 'John Smith'. Since I no longer use a title for his father, it seems illogical to use one for a child.
Debrett makes no mention of forms of address for children but I note that omitting any form of title (on an envelope) for an adult is now considered to be acceptable:
http://
(It would thus seem to follow that no title is now required when sending correspondence to a child).
Possibly also relevant:
https:/