An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. It is also often conflated with systems of honorific speech in linguistics, which are grammatical or morphological ways of encoding the relative social status of speakers. Honorifics can be used as prefixes or suffixes depending on the appropriate occasion and presentation in accordance with style and customs. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense, to refer to an honorary academic title.