mrs

[Unregistered]

when does a master become a Mr when addressing letters?

[Shakespeare's brother]

Please explain further. As far as I understood, 'master' was a salutation given to a child (pre 16); 'mister' thereafter.

SB

[IngridH]

When he becomes of age? Master seems archaic, but perhps it's used in legal documents?

[David L.]

It used to be when a lad reached the age of majority, which was 21, then 18. I think that convention is passed the board, and probably any self-respecting 16 year old (even 15) would object to be referred to as, and not refer to himself as, Master john Smith. However, letters he might receive which would include the salutation 'Mr." would most probably be official, and apart from letters from colleges and universities, he would not be receiving official letters (bank, government, other financial) personally until he was of age - they would be addressed to his parents as his guardians.

[Anglika]

Technically, "Mr" is the abbreviation of Master, which changed its form to Mister as a means of pronouncing the abbreviation.

The same process is happening with "Ms", which is gradually taking on the form of "M'zz" as a pronounciation and will eventually become a word!