In the Middle-Ages a man of certain importance was addressed as Monsor. The word started being spelt Monsieur in the 16th century.
Monsor – Monsieur is the contraction of Mon – Sieur (My Lord).
Sieur continued being used in front of a man’s name, without an initial capital in legal writings. At that time when used in a novel, it gave an ironical or derogatory tone.
En référence à la célèbre scène du réveil du film “La folie des grandeurs”, je propose Monseigneur (prononcé monseignor dans l’extrait pour la rime).
Leave a comment