I received a biosketch from someone today calling herself, "The Honorable Jane Doe..." This person is not a judge, nor even a lawyer. She is a leader in a nursing organization.

I thought "Honorable" was used for judges. Is it used for any other title? Maybe a military title? I don't know if she was in the military, but I have found that many nursing leaders have been.

I believe it is used for mayors of cities and foreign diplomats, as in the Hon. Henry Kissinger.

Hmm, good point.

I looked up the use on the Web, and found this quote from a Blog where the writer was disagreeing with the White House calling Karl Rove "Honorable":

"The use of 'honorable' struck this reporter as a little different. I usually associate it with judges, mayors and members of the House. I did a quick newsroom poll and this is the first time anyone in our newsroom has seen it applied to a member of the White House staff. Which doesn't mean it's wrong; it just seems unusual.

For what it's worth, I looked up the definition of 'honorable' in Merriam-Webster Online. Here's what I found.

1 : deserving of honor
2 a : of great renown : ILLUSTRIOUS b : entitled to honor -- used as a title for the children of certain British noblemen and for various government officials
3 : performed or accompanied with marks of honor or respect
4 a : attesting to creditable conduct b : consistent with an untarnished reputation
5 : characterized by integrity : guided by a high sense of honor and duty"

I find this use of "Honorable" (an executive director of a nursing organization) even more unusual than calling Karl Rove "honorable." I think she was presumptuous, unless she's a mayor or congresswoman or judge or something.

P.S...For you sic fans, should I have put a sic after the following phrase, which was presented as a sentence: "Which doesn't mean it's wrong;" You see, I didn't because I think that's arrogant. However, perhaps I am wrong.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Honorable in U.S. usage:

quote:

American usage
In the United States, the prefix The Honorable is generally used for government officials. Though there are few actual legal regulations of the title, generally speaking it is used as a title of courtesy for:

Any person elected to any public office at any level of American government;
All judges, whether appointed or elected, with the occasional exception of the most local magistrates (police justices, in some cases, for instance)
Appointed department heads, cabinet-level officials, members of public boards, and other officials of rank (county clerks, etc.) in states and localities (city and state commissioners, board of education members and the like)
Any person appointed by the President to a position subject to Senate confirmation (excluding military officers) – this includes ambassadors, cabinet secretaries and others.
Aside from the prefix, "The Honorable," when formally listing a person, the form of address, Your Honor, when addressing an individual is usually reserved for judges, justices, and magistrates (who are addressed as such when presiding in court). Some mayors, such as the Mayor of New York City, who is technically a magistrate of the court system, are also traditionally addressed this way.

Other modifiers ("the right honorable", "the most honorable") are not used in American practice.

If it's used for any elected official at any level of American government, then should I call my councilmember honorable. And what about the maayor of Shoreline. He's elected as a councilmember, but appointed by the council as mayor. So is he an honorable councilmember, but just a plain old, ordinary mayor?

I better not let my brother read this. He was elected councilmember of Mulkiteo, WA last year. If he knew he was entitled to be called honorable, he would insist on me calling him that every time I speak to him.

Wikipedia also talks about British, Australian, Canadian, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Manx useage of Honourable. But what do they know. They don't even know how to spell it right.

Honorable is a courtesy title and to use it for yourself sounds very egotistical to me.

Tinman

quote:

Honorable is a courtesy title and to use it for yourself sounds very egotistical to me.

I agree, Tinman. This was a biosketch that the person sent to me. Does she expect us to introduce her that way? I can tell you it won't happen! She is the executive director of a nursing organization, and I don't see that title fitting any of those Wikipedia categories. This is not an appointed or elected position, but a hired one.

For Brutus is an honorable man, So are they all, all honorable men ...
Marc Antony

If someone proclaims her or himself honourable, I am immediately suspicious.

quote:

If someone proclaims her or himself honourable, I am immediately suspicious.

Indeed. "The louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons." - Emerson