Of Doms and Dames
05/October/2007 Filed in:
JottingsEvery craft or business has its own special language. As a printer, I delight in the the "devils", "monks", "friars" and "hell" that inhabit the world of letterpress, so much more colourful than the "hickies" and "jaggies" of offset and digital printing. Monastic life also has its special terms. "Dom" and "Dame", abbreviated in both cases to "D.", are the customary English titles for a solemnly professed Benedictine monk or nun. They come from the Latin "Domnus" and "Domna", late forms of "Dominus" and "Domina", the ordinary forms of courteous address. Benedict was very keen that we should show courtesy to one anotherr and actually prohibited calling people by their bare name. Instead, everyone is literally entitled to respect. The use of "Dame" sometimes causes amusement among our guests, more often pleasure. It is also quite useful for disconcerting a pushy "cold caller".