Title of honor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An honorary title or title of honor is a title bestowed upon individuals or organizations as an award in recognition of their merits.
Sometimes the title bears the same or nearly the same name as a title of authority, but the person bestowed does not have to carry any duties, possibly except for ceremonial ones.
Some examples of honorary titles from various areas are:
- Kentucky colonel
- Knight of an honorific order
- Hero of the Russian Federation
- People's Artist
- Academician
- Patriarch of Venice
Man of the Year is not an honorary title.
Some historical honorary title may be bought, just like certain nobility titles. This has long been a matter of fraud, both outright and indirect: people often fail to realize that the value of a title is based on the prestige of the awarding body, rather on the amount paid for it.
Some honorary titles serve as positions of sinecure and honorary retirement.
