The Second Gentleman

(WSJ photo)

Mr. Douglas Emhoff, the husband of the Vice President, has an official designation: the Second Gentleman.

Mr. Emhoff’s honorific uses “gentleman” as the male counterpart to “lady” in the traditional titles of “First Lady” and “Second Lady” for the wives of the president and vice president, respectively. But while his formal designation may be new, it’s built on centuries of linguistic etiquette.

“Gentleman” itself dates back to around 1200 in English, originally modeled on the French equivalent, “gentilhomme.”

“Gentle” originally meant “belonging to a good, upstanding family,” from Latin “gentilis,” meaning “of the same family or clan.” The title was used for a man in the lower tier of respectability—one whose family was not ranked with the nobility yet was still entitled to a coat of arms.

Words, specifically references to men and women, have been one of the flashpoints of the culture wars. Lady and gentleman are terms that still carry with them the "whiff of their aristocratic background despite the country’s ostensibly egalitarian spirit" and are not tainted with historical baggage like, for example, master and mistress.

It's nice to know that at least one subject--the proper way to address Mr. Emhoff--won't be a source of contention.