Baba ("father, grandfather, wise old man, sir") [1] is a Persian honorific term, [2] used in several West Asian and South Asian cultures.
It is used as a mark of respect to refer to Hindu ascetics ( sannyasis ) and Sikh gurus, as a suffix or prefix to their names, e.g. Sai Baba of Shirdi, Baba Ramdevji, etc. [1] [3]
Baba is also a title accorded to Alevi clerics of Shia Islam, also among Sunni leaders and heads of certain Sufi orders, as in Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, and Rehman Baba. [1]
One of the most revered high priests in Samaritan tradition is Baba Rabba, literally "The Great Father". [4] He lived c. 3rd–4th century C.E.
Baba is also the title used for the Israeli Kabbalistic rabbis of the Abuhatzeira family, descendants of Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira, originally from Morocco, who was called the Baba Sali, and his brother Isaac Abuhatzeira, the Baba Chaki.
The term was also adopted in Malaysia as an honorific of respect to address Chinese people born in the British Straits Settlement. [5] [2]
Baba is also the familiar word for "father" in many languages (see mama and papa); in India it has even been adapted to address male children. [2] Baba also means grandmother in many countries.
Ḥasīd is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish law, and often one who goes beyond the legal requirements of ritual and ethical Jewish observance in daily life. In the Mishnah, the term is used thirteen times, the majority of which being in the Tractate Pirkei Avot.
The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of West Asia and core territory of the political term Middle East. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is equivalent to Cyprus and a stretch of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea in western Asia: i.e. the historical region of Syria, which includes present-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian territories and most of Turkey southwest of the middle Euphrates. Its overwhelming characteristic is that it represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia. In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the Eastern Mediterranean with its islands; that is, it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece in Southern Europe to Cyrenaica, Eastern Libya in Northern Africa.
The Reverend is an honorific style given before the names of certain Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style, but is sometimes referred to as a title, form of address, or title of respect. The style is also sometimes used by leaders in other religions such as Judaism and Buddhism.
Shri is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific.
Sir is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part of "Monsieur", with the equivalent "My Lord" in English. Traditionally, as governed by law and custom, Sir is used for men who are knights and belong to certain orders of chivalry, as well as later applied to baronets and other offices. As the female equivalent for knighthood is damehood, the suo jure female equivalent term is typically Dame. The wife of a knight or baronet tends to be addressed as Lady, although a few exceptions and interchanges of these uses exist.
Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase used to proclaim a school that a person has attended or, more usually, from which one has graduated. Alma mater is also a honorific title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. Later, in Catholicism, it became a title of Mary, mother of Jesus.
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It is also often conflated with systems of honorific speech in linguistics, which are grammatical or morphological ways of encoding the relative social status of speakers. Honorifics can be used as prefixes or suffixes depending on the appropriate occasion and presentation in accordance with style and customs.
In the English language, an honorific is a form of address conveying esteem, courtesy or respect. These can be titles prefixing a person's name, e.g.: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Mx, Sir, Dame, Dr, Cllr, Lady, or Lord, or other titles or positions that can appear as a form of address without the person's name, as in Mr President, General, Captain, Father, Doctor, or Earl.
Baghatur is a historical Turkic and Mongol honorific title, in origin a term for "hero" or "valiant warrior". The Papal envoy Plano Carpini compared the title with the equivalent of European Knighthood.
Among the honorifics in Judaism, there are several traditional honorifics for the dead which are used when naming and speaking of the deceased. Different honorifics might be applied depending on the particular status of the deceased. These honorifics are frequently found on gravestones, on memorial walls inside the sanctuary of synagogues, in speeches, and in writing such as in obituaries.
Israel Abuhatzeira, known as the Baba Sali (1889–1984) was a leading Moroccan Sephardic rabbi and kabbalist who was renowned for his alleged ability to work miracles through his prayers. His burial place in Netivot, Israel has become a shrine for prayers and petitioners.
Mar, also Mor in Western Syriac, is an Aramaic word meaning "lord". The corresponding feminine forms in Syriac are Morth and Marth for "lady".
North Britain is a term which has been used, particularly between the 17th and 19th centuries, for either the northern part of Great Britain or Scotland, which occupies the northernmost third of the island. "North Britains" could also refer to Britons from Scotland; with North Briton later the standard spelling. Its counterparts were South Britain, generally used to refer to England and Wales and West Britain, usually referring to Ireland.
Bhante, sometimes also Bhadanta, is a respectful title used to address Buddhist monks, nuns, and superiors, especially in the Theravada tradition. In English, the term is often translated as Venerable.
Hazrat, Hadrat, Hadhrat, or Hadrah is a common Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Iranian, Afghan, and honorific Arabic and Turkish title used to honour a person. It literally denotes and translates to "presence, appearance."
There are a number of honorifics in Judaism that vary depending on the status of, and the relationship to, the person to whom one is referring.
Babu is a historical title of royalty and nobility in the Indian subcontinent used by rulers and chieftains of many princely states. It is derived from Raja. Compound titles include babu saheb and babuji.
-ji is a gender-neutral honorific used as a suffix in many languages of the Indian subcontinent, such as Hindi, Nepali and Punjabi languages and their dialects prevalent in northern India, north-west and central India.
Indian honorifics are honorific titles or appendices to names used in the Indian subcontinent, covering formal and informal social, commercial, and religious relationships. These may take the form of prefixes, suffixes or replacements.
Mister, usually written in its contracted form Mr. or Mr, is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title Mr derived from earlier forms of master, as the equivalent female titles Mrs, Miss, and Ms all derived from earlier forms of mistress. Master is sometimes still used as an honorific for boys and young men.