Style (form of address)

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A style of office, also called manner of reference, or form of address when someone is spoken to directly, is an official or legally recognized form of reference for a person or other entity (such as a government or company), and may often be used in conjunction with a personal title.^[1][2] A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal capacity. Such styles are particularly associated with monarchies, where they may be used by a wife of an office holder or of a prince of the blood, for the duration of their marriage. They are also almost universally used for presidents in republics and in many countries for members of legislative bodies, higher-ranking judges, and senior constitutional office holders. Leading religious figures also have styles.

The second-person (singular and plural) possessive adjective your is used as a form of address (that is, when speaking directly to the person[s] entitled to the style[s]); the third-person possessive adjectives his/her' (singular) and their (plural) are used as forms of reference (that is, when speaking about the person[s] entitled to the style[s]).