An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. It is also often conflated with systems of honorific speech in
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar and his courtiers, c. 1815. Persian honorifics and forms of address historically reflected elaborate distinctions of royal, administrative and social rank.
A Maratha Durbar showing the Chief (Raja) and the nobles (Sardars, Jagirdars, Sarpatil, Istamuradars & Mankaris) of the state.