What is "batoni"

Batoni may refer to:

• Batoni (title), a Georgian honorific
• Batoni, Italy, a hamlet
• Pompeo Batoni, Italian painter

Batoni is a Georgian word for " lord", or " master". It is derived from patroni , the earlier term of similar meaning, and appears in common usage in the 15th century.

• In Georgian feudal hierarchy, "batoni" may denote the supreme suzerain (i.e., monarch), seigneur, or any secular or clerical who owned qma, i.e., " slave" or " serf". The word sometimes appears as a part of the royal and nobiliary titulature. For example, the title of the Princes of Mukhrani was batoni ( Mukhran-batoni), and the early kings of Kakheti were likewise referred to by that title in some Georgian sources.
• In modern usage, batoni is an honorific used for a man, an equivalent of both Mr. and sir. The equivalent female title is k'albatoni . It can be used with the full name as well as either the last or first name. When addressing someone directly, the word is used in a vocative case (k'al)batono , and precedes either the first name (more commonly) or the last name, but it can also be used by itself in direct address.