Messrs.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messrs. (from the French messieurs) is the plural form of both Mr. and Monsieur.

Its use in English is decreasing, although it is still used in formal (particularly legal) correspondence. It appears regularly in the magazine, The Economist. Informally, it has appeared on occasion in articles in The Wall Street Journal.

Messrs. implies a relationship between the individuals concerned. One might speak or write of, for example, Messrs. Dewey and Cheatem from the firm of Dewey, Cheatem and Howe, or the Messrs. Smith, where John Smith and Joe Smith are related. In written social correspondence, however all adult males are individually addressed as Mr.