The plural of monsieur, meaning gentlemen or sirs in French; used as a formal address for multiple men.
From Old French 'mesire' or 'monsieur' (mon- 'my' + sieur 'sir'). 'Messieurs' is the formal plural, used in French etiquette and borrowed into English for formal contexts.
The abbreviation 'MM.' stands for messieurs and is still used on formal French invitations and business documents, similar to how 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' are used in English—it's a linguistic fossil showing how French aristocratic politeness once dominated European high society.
French 'messieurs' (sirs) has no common female equivalent for plural address that matches formality/neutrality. Language defaults to masculine collective even when addressing mixed or all-female groups.
When addressing mixed or all-female groups in French, use 'Mesdames et messieurs' or 'Mesdames' explicitly. In English, use 'everyone,' 'colleagues,' or names rather than gendered address.
["everyone","colleagues","people","Mesdames and messieurs"]
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