Monsieur

See also: monsieur

English

Noun

Monsieur (plural Monsieurs or Messieurs)

  1. Mister, especially in a French context.
    • 1880, Horace Wemyss Smith, Life and Correspondence of the Rev. William Smith, D. D.: First Provost of the College and Academy of Philadelphia. First President of Washington College, Maryland. With Copious Extracts from His Writings, page 140:
      It will appear by the Minutes sent You to June i6th last, and by those which accompany this Letter, that Messieurs Smith and Schlatter have done their Part; [...]
    • 2011, Rick Johnson, That's My Teenage Son: How Moms Can Influence Their Boys to Become Good Men, Revell (→ISBN), page 204:
      As the Monsieurs suddenly showed up and confronted the situation with wicked grins on their faces, the gang members decided to sullenly disperse and slink away. It was like a scene from an old West showdown.
    • 2014, Tasha Alexander, The Counterfeit Heiress: A Lady Emily Mystery, Minotaur Books (→ISBN), page 244:
      Estella smiled when she considered how very different her circumstances were now to those when, not so long ago, she had feared Monsieur Jones, and thought of him only as her captor. Now, he was something else: her liberator, ...

French

Etymology

Capitalization of monsieur

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /mə.sjø/

Noun

Monsieur m (plural Messieurs)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of monsieur Used to show respect.
  2. (historical) Specifically, the brother of the French king
    • 1844, Alexandre Dumas, Les Trois Mousquetaires, II:
      Comment ! le cardinal fait […] couper le cou à Chalais, sous le stupide prétexte qu'il a voulu tuer le roi et marier Monsieur avec la reine !
      What! The cardinal is having Chalais's head cut off, on the ridiculous pretext that he wanted to kill the king and marry Monsieur to the queen!
    • 1874, Barbey d'Aurevilly, ‘Le Bonheur dans le crime’, Les Diaboliques:
      Plus de trente jeunes gens de ses meillures familles servaient alors, soit aux Gardes-du-Corps, soit à ceux de Monsieur […].
      More than thirty people from the town's best families served either in the king's bodyguard, or in that of Monsieur.

Anagrams
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