Dominus is the Latin word for master or owner. As a title of sovereignty the term under the Roman Republic had all the associations of the Greek rupavvos; refused during the early principate, it finally became an official title of the Roman Emperors under Diocletian. Dominus, the French equivalent being "sieur", was the Latin title of the feudal, superior and mesne, lords, and also an ecclesiastical and academical title. The ecclesiastical title was rendered in English "sir", which was a common prefix before the Reformation for parsons, as in Sir Hugh Evans in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. The academical use was for a bachelor of arts, and so is still used at the University of Cambridge and other universities. The shortened form "dom" is used as a prefix of honor for ecclesiastics of the Roman Church, and especially for members of the Benedictine and other religious orders. The same form is also a title of honor in Portugal, as formerly in Brazil, used by members of the blood royal and others on whom it has been conferred by the sovereign. The Spanish form "don" is also a title, formerly applicable only to the nobility, and now one of courtesy and respect applied to any member of the better classes. The feminine form "donna" is similarly applied to a lady. The same can be said of the Romanian "domn" and "doamna". Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Master was once a title used in England for men of fairly high rank, such as gentlemen, priests or scholars. ... A title is a prefix or suffix added to a persons name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, group of people or oneself. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... The Principate is, according to its etymological derivation from the Latin word princeps, meaning chief or first, the political regime dominated by such a head of state and government. ... Roman Emperor is the term historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Emperor Diocletian Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (245?–312?), born Diocles, was Roman Emperor as Diocletian from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305. ... Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... Mesne (an Anglo-French legal form of the O. Fr. ... A lord is a male who has power and authority. ... This article should be transwikied to wiktionary Ecclesiastical means pertaining to the Church (especially Christianity) as an organized body of believers and clergy, with a stress on its juridical and institutional structure. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Look up prefix on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... A parson is a member of the Protestant clergy. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious denomination of Christianity with over one billion members. ... ... A religious order is an organization of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with religious devotion. ... A royal family is the extended family of a monarch. ... Look up Sovereign in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The adjective sovereign is used to refer to a state of sovereignty. ... The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats-of-arms at the Windows of the Lodge of the Heralds. ... All languages can use different nouns to differentiate between people of different biological or social gender, e. ...

The English colloquial use of "don" for a fellow or tutor of a college at a university is derived either from an application of the Spanish title to one having authority or position, or from the academical use of dominus. The earliest use of the word in this sense appears, according to the New English Dictionary, in Souths Sermons (1660). An English corruption, "dan", was in early use as a title of respect, equivalent to master. The particular literary application to poets is due to Edmund Spenser's use of Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled. A colloquialism is an informal expression, that is, an expression not used in formal speech or writing. ... // English Secondary Schools In English Secondary Schools the Form Tutor is similar to an American Home Room Teacher. ... The term college (Latin collegium) is most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive multi-volume dictionary published by the Oxford University Press. ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ... Literature is literally an acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has, however, generally come to identify a collection of texts. ... Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. ... Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (c. ... Chaucer: Illustration from Cassells History of England, circa 1902 Chanticleer the rooster from an outdoor production of Chanticleer and the Fox at Ashby_de_la_Zouch castle Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.