Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Mr” come from?

Mr, the English abbreviation for Mister, derives from Middle English maister, from Old French maistre, from Latin magister meaning "master" or "chief."

Mr (English): Britain standard form of Mr.. Abbreviation of...

Definitions

  1. Britain standard form of Mr.. Abbreviation of...

Ancestry of “Mr”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMisterGeneral title or respect of an adult male;...
2Middle EnglishmisterA station, position, or rank in a hierarchy or...
3Anglo-Normanmester—
4Medieval Latinmisterium—
5Latinministeriumministry; employment, ministration; service
6Latin-iumSuffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes...
7Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
8Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
9Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “Mr”

  • Mx
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →