Ter (
Eastern Armenian
Eastern Armenian () is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language.
Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Russia, as well as Georgia, and by the Armeni ...
) or Der (
Western Armenian
Western Armenian ( ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based on the Yerevan Arme ...
) (), is a hereditary
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
prefixed to family names of descendants of married clergy in the
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...
. The first president of the modern
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Levon Ter-Petrosyan is a notable example. Both male and female descendants are entitled to the honorific which can be used only before the surname and not the Christian (first) names, since use of Ter or Der before the Christian name would denote a member of the clergy and is equivalent to "Reverend" or "Father" in English usage.
Honorifics
Titles
Culture of Armenia
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