Did Romans have honorifics for women??

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by Gandire Alea, Sep 2, 2022.

  1. Gandire Alea

    Gandire Alea [Wicked Awesome Translator]

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    Greetings Nuffians,

    Weird question, but I can't find a definitive answer for this. If you do know, then would you mind listing what they are as well??

    Thank you~
     
  2. MangoGuy

    MangoGuy Rambling Mango

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    Are honorifics the same as titles? Titles like Mr or Miss. I think these may have existed in any hierarchial society, irrespective of the common tongue. I am not a Roman expert tho, so this is just a guess.
     
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  3. Resplendor

    Resplendor High Lord of Souls

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    Oh gosh... Vague memories of Latin class have me remembering that married women had a "madam" like word.
    But honestly, all I properly remember is "Semper ubi sub ubi" and "Salve".
    "Always where under where" and "Hello" respectively.

    Edit: Did some digging and the word I was looking for was Matrona, (Matron) but Domina (Lady/Mistress as in a noble superior or master of the house) and Hera (Miss) work as well.
    You could also just add adjectives in front of the word "Mulier" (Female/woman/girl) so something like "Nobilis Mulier" might translate to "My Noble lady".

    Edit edit: "Mulier" is specifically a married or older woman and was the actual word I was looking for. "Matrona" is married with children to a man in good standing and is more formal than "Mulier". "Domina" is used by slaves or servants towards a female head of household and is probably the most formal. "Uxor" is wife. "Nupta" is bride. "Mater" is mother.
    An unmarried young woman is "Virgo".
    "Ella" is girl. (Said A-ya, the double "L"s are pronounced like Spanish))
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2022
  4. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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  5. rasyidmystery

    rasyidmystery Well-Known Member

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    is this where Dominatrix came from?
     
  6. Gandire Alea

    Gandire Alea [Wicked Awesome Translator]

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    good idea

    thanks~

    partially, yes
     
  7. Kemm

    Kemm Custom title

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    "Dominus" means "mister" with the connotation of being an owner (usually landowner, but not necessarily), while "Domina" is the female version (either the wife of a Dominus or a woman with legal ownership over lands, slaves or another suitable property). Both come from the verb "dominare", which basically means "to own" but later got more connotations until it became "to dominate" (and as you can see, it's the root of that verb). "Dominatrix" is a neologism based on the late meaning of the word and the suffix -trix, which is the female form of -tore and means "someone who [preceding verb]s" (the suffix evolved in English to -tress, in case you wonder, although in some cases like "empress" it loses the "tr").
     
  8. Kadmos1

    Kadmos1 Well-Known Member

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    Why would a woman be ROAMING around for honorifics?