Forms of address in the Northern States

Courtesy titles

də̄ṇġ-potiš and də̄ṇġ-pōdnī are masculine and feminine equivalents of the same courtesy title, usually rendered in English as "Sir" and "Madam" respectively. In discourse, they may be shortened to potiš and pōdnī without changing their meaning. Literally, they mean "master of the house" and "mistress of the house" and are direct cognates to Syaran terms like δησπότης and δέσποινα. They are considered respectful terms of address because in ancient times members of a household were regarded as subject to the authority of head of the household, male or female as the case may be. By identifying a person as a head of household, their personal liberty and legitimate authority to act on their own behalf is thereby recognized. While the term has residual legal significance, its principal significance is only social today.

The gender-neutral də̄ṇġ-pote has been made popular in recent decades by individuals who prefer not to identify a binary gender; however, some authorities discourage the use of də̄ṇġ-pote on the grounds that the neuter gender is appropriate only for inanimate objects and could be considered demeaning applied to persons, and they generally advocate for an entirely new term of address, for which there is no consensus.