rank

a noun signifying the position in a serial order of the person within the authority bestowing it; a r. is civil, military, ecclesiastical, academic, or occupational, and may be different depending on the unit, denomination, or other specific institution; the r. is introduced in PS-RULES [PS9] & [PS12] (as Mother); in America the most common r. in an honorific title phrase are Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Miss; the r. is usually carried by adults, has gender, and for the women, marital status; some other common r. titles, these depending more on social status or professional attainment, are Dr. and Rev.; most of these particular examples are standard abbreviations; when the r. of Sir occurs in a pre-positive title phrase the r. of Knight (Kt., Knt.) occurs in an obligatory postpositive title phrase