A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.
32-451: A bachelor is first attested as the 12th-century bacheler : a knight bachelor , a knight too young or poor to gather vassals under his own banner . The Old French bacheler presumably derives from Provençal bacalar and Italian baccalare , but the ultimate source of the word is uncertain. The proposed Medieval Latin * baccalaris ("vassal", "field hand") is only attested late enough that it may have derived from
64-534: A moral panic or homophobia due to the important status given to marriage at various times and places (as in Ancient Rome, or in various U.S. state legislatures during the early 20th century). Frequently, this would be attached to racial (e.g., as part of Apartheid policies) or nationalistic reasons (as in Fascist Italy or Nazi Germany ). More recently, bachelor taxes were viewed as part of
96-444: A moral panic , and the bachelor tax was viewed as a way to reform social ills either because individuals believed that bachelors had a higher rate of delinquency, or because they believed that many bachelors were closeted homosexuals . The bachelor tax has a long history of being used for race-based pronatalism policies. In the early 20th century, this morphed into a general discussion of " race suicide ", and consequently there
128-462: A " bachelor's degree ". This sense of baccalarius or baccalaureus is first attested at the University of Paris in the 13th century in the system of degrees established under the auspices of Pope Gregory IX as applied to scholars still in statu pupillari . There were two classes of baccalarii : the baccalarii cursores , theological candidates passed for admission to
160-499: A general tax on childlessness , which were used frequently by member states of the Warsaw Pact . The Lex Papia Poppaea was introduced by emperor Augustus to encourage marriage. In particular, penalties were imposed on those who were celibate , with an exception granted to Vestal Virgins (Ulp. Frag. xvii.1). The law also imposed penalties on married persons who had no children ( qui liberos non habent , Gaius, ii.111) from
192-537: A member of one of the organised orders of chivalry ; it is a part of the British honours system . Knights Bachelor are the most ancient sort of British knight (the rank existed during the 13th-century reign of King Henry III ), but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of chivalric orders. A man who is knighted is formally addressed as " Sir [First Name] [Surname]" or "Sir [First Name]" and his wife as " Lady [Surname]". The designation "Bachelor" in this context conveys
224-661: A new certificate of authentication, a knight's only personal documentation, was designed by the College of Arms . The Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor was founded for the maintenance and consolidation of the Dignity of Knights Bachelor in 1908, and obtained official recognition from the Sovereign in 1912. The Society keeps records of all Knights Bachelor, in their interest. There is no female counterpart to Knight Bachelor. The lowest knightly honour that can be conferred upon
256-616: A woman is Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE), which is one rank higher than Knight Bachelor (being the female equivalent of KBE or Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which is the next male knightly rank above Knight Bachelor). Only citizens of Commonwealth realms can be created Knights Bachelor; people of other nationalities are generally made honorary KBEs. Bachelor tax A bachelor tax
288-415: Is spinster , which is considered pejorative and implies unattractiveness (i.e. old maid, cat lady ). The term "bachelorette" has been used in its place, particularly in the context of bachelorette parties and reality TV series The Bachelorette . Knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as
320-400: Is a punitive tax imposed on unmarried men . In the modern era, many countries do vary tax rates by marital status , so current references to bachelor taxes are typically implicit rather than explicit; and given the state of tax law is very complicated, as tax accountancy concepts like income splitting can come into play. Such explicit measures historically would be instituted as part of
352-423: Is described in heraldic terms as follows: Upon an oval medallion of vermilion , enclosed by a scroll a cross-hilted sword belted and sheathed, pommel upwards, between two spurs, rowels upwards, the whole set about with the sword belt, all gilt. In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II issued a further warrant authorising the wearing on appropriate occasions of a neck badge, slightly smaller, and in miniature. In 1988,
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#1732758008494384-537: The Marriage Duty Act 1695 , also known as the Registration Tax, which imposed a tax on births, marriages, burials, childless widowers, and bachelors over the age of 25. It was primarily used as a revenue raising mechanism for war on France and as a means of ensuring that proper records were kept by Anglican church officials. The tax was found ineffective and abolished by 1706. Following in
416-586: The gender-neutral term " single " (first recorded 1964). In England and Wales, the term "bachelor" remained the official term used for the purpose of marriage registration until 2005, when it was abolished in favor of "single." Bachelors have been subject to penal laws in many countries, most notably in Ancient Sparta and Rome . At Sparta, men unmarried after a certain age were subject to various penalties ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : ἀτιμία , atimía ): they were forbidden to watch women's gymnastics; during
448-439: The town hall until kissed by a "virgin". In a 1912 Pittsburgh Press article, there was a suggestion that local bachelors should wear a special pin that identified them as such, or a black necktie to symbolize that "....they [bachelors] should be in perpetual mourning because they are so foolish as to stay unmarried and deprive themselves of the comforts of a wife and home." The idea of a tax on bachelors has existed throughout
480-451: The 1785 Tax on Servants, and the 1798 Income Tax. A study that was conducted by professor Charles Waehler at the University of Akron in Ohio on non-married heterosexual males deduced that once non-married men hit middle age, they will be less likely to marry and remain unattached later into their lives. The study concluded that there is only a 1-in-6 chance that men older than 40 will leave
512-427: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE); Sir Patrick Stewart , Sir Cliff Richard , Sir Tom Jones and Sir Van Morrison are Officers of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE); while Sir Paul McCartney , Sir Richard Starkey ( Ringo Starr ), Sir Nick Faldo , and Sir Lewis Hamilton are Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). None of them would be entitled to use
544-486: The Order of the British Empire instead.) Until 1926, Knights Bachelor had no insignia which they could wear, but in that year King George V issued a warrant authorising the wearing of a badge on all appropriate occasions by Knights Bachelor; this badge is worn on the left side of the coat or outer garment. Measuring 2 + 3 ⁄ 8 inches (60 mm) in length and 1 + 3 ⁄ 8 inches (35 mm) in width, it
576-567: The Victorian era, the term " confirmed bachelor " denoted a man who desired to remain single. By the later 19th century, the term "bachelor" had acquired the general sense of "unmarried man". The expression bachelor party is recorded 1882. In 1895, a feminine equivalent "bachelor-girl" was coined, replaced in US English by " bachelorette " by the mid-1930s. This terminology is now generally seen as antiquated, and has been largely replaced by
608-488: The age of twenty-five to sixty in a man, and from the age of twenty to fifty in a woman. (Tacit. Ann. xv.19). Resm-i mücerred was a bachelor tax instituted in the Ottoman Empire in conjunction with the resm-i çift and the resm-i bennâk . Those who fell under the tax were more likely to migrate to other areas. Migrant mücerred were more likely to make their way to a growing town. The English parliament passed
640-815: The centuries. Bachelors in Rome fell under the Lex Julia of 18 BC and the Lex Papia Poppaea of AD 9: these lay heavy fines on unmarried or childless people while providing certain privileges to those with several children. In 1695, a law known as the Marriage Duty Act was imposed on single males over 25 years old by the English Crown to help generate income for the Nine Years' War . In Britain , taxes occasionally fell heavier on bachelors than other persons: examples include 6 & 7 Will. III,
672-684: The concept of "junior in rank". Knighthood is usually conferred for public service; amongst its recipients are all male judges of His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England . It is possible to be a Knight Bachelor and a junior member of an order of chivalry without being a knight of that order; this situation has become rather common, especially among those recognized for achievements in entertainment. For instance, Sir Michael Gambon , Sir Mo Farah , Sir Derek Jacobi , Sir Anthony Hopkins , Sir Elton John , Sir Michael Caine , Sir Billy Connolly , Sir Barry Gibb and Sir Ian McKellen are Commanders of
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#1732758008494704-495: The divinity course, and the baccalarii dispositi , who had completed the course and were entitled to proceed to the higher degrees. In the Victorian era , the term " eligible bachelor " was used in the context of upper class matchmaking , denoting a young man who was not only unmarried and eligible for marriage, but also considered "eligible" in financial and social terms for the prospective bride under discussion. Also in
736-495: The footsteps of Italy and Spain, but mainly for Nazi party "family values." In particular, it was meant as part of Hitler's "three Ks" policy ( Kirche, Küche, Kinder or Church, Kitchen, Children) to get women "back into the home." Increased tax burden for unmarried, childless citizens over the age of 24 from 1935 to 1975. During the 19th century in the United States, calls for a bachelor tax were frequently driven by
768-526: The honorific "Sir" by virtue of their membership of the order alone, but as they are all also Knights Bachelor, they are entitled to preface their names with that title. Knights Bachelor may prefix " Sir " to their forenames, and wives of Knights may prefix "Lady" to their surnames. The award originated in the Middle Ages . There are no post-nominal letters associated with the honour nor can it be awarded to women. (They are appointed Dames Commander of
800-493: The reliability of the tax to results in pronatalist outcomes. In Fascist Italy, it was found to be ineffective, as birth and marriage rates actually decreased. In the Soviet Union, the effect on the fertility rate of the policy was likewise inconclusive; and it was also found to be fairly regressive, as it tended to hit rural, poorer bachelors hardest. However, modern day implementations of taxation based on marital status in
832-586: The same time in order to increase falling fertility rates. Today, bachelor taxes have for the most part been superseded by the inclusion of marital status in the tax code. The first distinction in marital status as part of an income tax happened in the U.S. by 1930 after Poe v. Seaborn , where "income-splitting" was allowed in community property states. Therefore, until 1948, tax rates amongst married and bachelors differed based on one's state of residence. This disparity lead to joint-filing status being allowed by U.S. Federal tax law in 1948 to attempt to harmonize
864-485: The single life, and that after the age 45, the odds fall to 1-in-20. In certain Gulf Arab countries, "bachelor" can refer to men who are single as well as immigrant men married to a spouse residing in their country of origin (due to the high added cost of sponsoring a spouse onsite). The term bachelorette is sometimes used to refer to a woman who has never been married. The traditional female equivalent to bachelor
896-612: The tax code between community property and common law states. After the war , joint filing and marital status began to be incorporated instead of explicit bachelor taxes into the U.S. tax system and soon spread to other tax systems around the world. According to a 2010 study in the Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Europe , the utility of the tax has been mixed, as analysis of past historical episodes have questioned
928-538: The vernacular languages, rather than from the southern French and northern Spanish Latin baccalaria . Alternatively, it has been derived from Latin baculum ("a stick"), in reference to the wooden sticks used by knights in training. From the 14th century, the term "bachelor" was also used for a junior member of a guild (otherwise known as "yeomen") or university and then for low-level ecclesiastics, as young monks and recently appointed canons . As an inferior grade of scholarship, it came to refer to one holding
960-406: The winter, they were made to march naked through the agora singing a song about their dishonor; and they were not provided with the traditional respect due to the elderly. Some Athenian laws were similar. Over time, some punishments developed into no more than a teasing game. In some parts of Germany, for instance, men who were still unmarried by their 30th birthday were made to sweep the stairs of
992-533: Was discussed in Bulgarian Fascist circles, and became a staple of Fascist propaganda in general. Many Warsaw Pact countries instituted some form of a bachelor tax, such as the Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Typically, it formed a part of Communist natalist policies, the taxes on childlessness , and family planning policies that were instituted in Communist countries at around
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1024-485: Was much literature supporting racial-based pronatalist policies, typically in the field of eugenics . After such measures were passed in South Africa in an attempt to align white birth rates with black rates, it passed to Benito Mussolini , who explicitly called for it to spread Italian progeny in a speech on May 26, 1927: Thereafter, the idea of the bachelor tax was passed over to Franco 's Spain, Nazi Germany,
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