titular

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Etruscanbor.?

Latin titulus

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin -āris

Latin titulārisder.

Middle French titulairebor.

English titular

Borrowed from Middle French titulaire, from Latin titulāris, from titulus (“title”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪtjʊlə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɪt͡ʃəlɚ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

titular (not comparable)

1. Of, relating to, being, derived from, or having a title.
2. Existing in name only; nominal.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     If these magnific titles yet remain / Not merely titular.

3. Named or referred to in the title.

   Macbeth is a titular character.

   • 2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC‎^[1], archived from the original on 2 October 2025:

     That story begins in rural Wyoming in 1963, when drifters Ennis and Jack are hired by a local rancher to herd sheep through grazing ground on the titular Brokeback Mountain.

Derived terms

• cotitular
• intertitular
• multititular
• nontitular
• subtitular
• titular bishop
• titular church
• titularity
• titularize
• titularly
• titular see
• unititular
• untitular

Translations

of a title

• Bulgarian: титулуван (bg) (tituluvan)
• Catalan: titular (ca)
• Dutch: titulair (nl)
• French: titulaire (fr)
• Indonesian: tituler (id)
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: насловен m (nasloven)
• Maltese: titular m
• Polish: tytułowy (pl)
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: titular (es)

nominal — see also nominal

• Bulgarian: номина́лен (bg) (nominálen)
• Catalan: nominal (ca)
• Dutch: titulair (nl), nominaal (nl)
• French: nominal (fr), titulaire (fr)
• German: nominell (de), Ehren-, Titular-
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: номина́лен m (nominálen)
• Polish: tytularny (pl), imienny (pl)
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

referred to in the title

• Catalan: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: titulní (cs)
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: Titel-, Namens-
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: насловен m (nasloven)
• Polish: tytułowy (pl)
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: del título
• Urdu: عنوانی ('nvānī)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Noun

titular (plural titulars)

1. One who holds a title.
2. The person from whom a church takes its special name; distinguished from a patron, who must be canonized or an angel.

Derived terms

• titular of the tithes

Translations

one who holds a title

• Bulgarian: титуляр (bg) m (tituljar)
• Catalan: titular (ca) m or f
• Dutch: titelvoerder m, titeldrager m
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: Titelträger (de) m
• Indonesian: tituler (id)
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: imiennik (pl) m pers, imienniczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: ^{(please verify)} titular (pt) m
• Spanish: titular (es) m or f

See also

• eponym
• eponymous
• entitled

Catalan

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Late Latin titulāris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central, Northwestern) [ti.tuˈlar]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ti.tuˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ti.tuˈlaɾ]
• Homophone: titulà

Adjective

titular m or f (masculine and feminine plural titulars)

1. titular (related to or belonging to a title)

Noun

titular m or f by sense (plural titulars)

1. titular (one who holds a title)

Derived terms

• titularitat

Related terms

• títol

Noun

titular m (plural titulars)

1. headline
2. one who holds a title

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Late Latin titulāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Northwestern) [ti.tuˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ti.tuˈlaɾ]
• Homophone: titulà

Verb

titular (first-person singular present titulo, first-person singular preterite titulí, past participle titulat)

1. (transitive) to title (a book, etc.)
2. (transitive) to grant a diploma to
3. (transitive, chemistry) to titrate
4. (pronominal) to be titled (of a book, etc.)
5. (pronominal) to obtain a diploma, to graduate

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of titular (first conjugation)

infinitive			titular
gerund			titulant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		titulat		titulada
		plural		titulats		titulades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	titulo	titules	titula	titulem	tituleu	titulen
	imperfect	titulava	titulaves	titulava	titulàvem	titulàveu	titulaven
	future	titularé	titularàs	titularà	titularem	titulareu	titularan
	preterite	titulí	titulares	titulà	titulàrem	titulàreu	titularen
	conditional	titularia	titularies	titularia	titularíem	titularíeu	titularien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	tituli	titulis	tituli	titulem	tituleu	titulin
	imperfect	titulés	titulessis	titulés	tituléssim	tituléssiu	titulessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	titula	tituli	titulem	tituleu	titulin
	negative (no)	—	no titulis	no tituli	no titulem	no tituleu	no titulin

Related terms

• titulació
• titulatura

Further reading

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “titular”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “titular”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “titular”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Portuguese

Etymology 1

From título +‎ -ar, or borrowed from Late Latin titulāris.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈlaʁ/ [t͡ʃi.tuˈlah]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈlaʁ/ [t͡ʃi.tuˈlah]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈlaɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈlaʁ/ [t͡ʃi.tuˈlaχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈlaɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ti.tuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ti.tuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ti.tuˈla.ɾi/

Adjective

titular m or f (plural titulares)

1. titular, titled

Noun

titular m or f by sense (plural titulares)

1. holder, bearer (of a title, etc.)
2. (sports) starter (a player who plays from the start a game)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Etruscanbor.?

Latin titulus

Late Latin titulārelbor.

Portuguese titular

Learned borrowing from Late Latin titulāre.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈla(ʁ)/ [t͡ʃi.tuˈla(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈla(ʁ)/ [t͡ʃi.tuˈla(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈla(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈla(ʁ)/ [t͡ʃi.tuˈla(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.tuˈla(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ti.tuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ti.tuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ti.tuˈla.ɾi/

Verb

titular (first-person singular present titulo, first-person singular preterite titulei, past participle titulado)

1. to title
2. (chemistry) to titrate

Conjugation

    Conjugation of titular (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	titular
Personal	titular	titulares	titular	titularmos	titulardes	titularem
Gerund
	titulando
Past participle
Masculine	titulado			titulados
Feminine	titulada			tituladas
Indicative
Present	titulo	titulas	titula	titulamos	titulais	titulam
Imperfect	titulava	titulavas	titulava	titulávamos	tituláveis	titulavam
Preterite	titulei	titulaste	titulou	titulamos1, titulámos2	titulastes	titularam
Pluperfect	titulara	titularas	titulara	tituláramos	tituláreis	titularam
Future	titularei	titularás	titulará	titularemos	titulareis	titularão
Conditional	titularia	titularias	titularia	titularíamos	titularíeis	titulariam
Subjunctive
Present	titule	titules	titule	titulemos	tituleis	titulem
Imperfect	titulasse	titulasses	titulasse	titulássemos	titulásseis	titulassem
Future	titular	titulares	titular	titularmos	titulardes	titularem
Imperative
Affirmative		titula	titule	titulemos	titulai	titulem
Negative (não)		não titules	não titule	não titulemos	não tituleis	não titulem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Derived terms

• titulação

Further reading

• “titular”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “titular”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “titular”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “titular”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Etruscanbor.?

Latin titulus

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin -āris

Late Latin titulārislbor.

French titulairebor.

Romanian titular

Borrowed from French titulaire.

Noun

titular m (plural titulari)

1. holder

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	titular	titularul	titulari	titularii
genitive-dative	titular	titularului	titulari	titularilor
vocative	titularule		titularilor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tituˈlaɾ/ [t̪i.t̪uˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: ti‧tu‧lar

Etymology 1

From título +‎ -ar, or borrowed from Late Latin titulāris.

Adjective

titular m or f (masculine and feminine plural titulares)

1. titular

Noun

titular m (plural titulares)

1. headline

   Synonym: encabezado

Noun

titular m or f by sense (plural titulares)

1. holder (of a position)
2. owner (of a position)
3. (sports) starter (a player who plays from the start a game)

   Synonym: inicial

   • 2016 March, “Dio palo a los Mets - El Siglo”, in El Siglo‎^[2], archived from the original on 4 April 2016:

     Tejada se lució ante su exequipo, al pegar de 3-2, mientras salía de titular en el campo corto y alineaba octavo en el orden ofensivo.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Etruscanbor.?

Latin titulus

Late Latin titulārelbor.

Spanish titular

Learned borrowing from Late Latin titulāre. Doublet of tildar.

Verb

titular (first-person singular present titulo, first-person singular preterite titulé, past participle titulado)

1. (transitive) to entitle
2. (transitive) to title
3. (intransitive, chemistry) to value a solution

Conjugation

    Conjugation of titular (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			titular
gerund			titulando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		titulado		titulada
		plural		titulados		tituladas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	titulo	titulastú titulásvos	titula	titulamos	tituláis	titulan
	imperfect	titulaba	titulabas	titulaba	titulábamos	titulabais	titulaban
	preterite	titulé	titulaste	tituló	titulamos	titulasteis	titularon
	future	titularé	titularás	titulará	titularemos	titularéis	titularán
	conditional	titularía	titularías	titularía	titularíamos	titularíais	titularían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	titule	titulestú titulésvos2	titule	titulemos	tituléis	titulen
	imperfect (ra)	titulara	titularas	titulara	tituláramos	titularais	titularan
	imperfect (se)	titulase	titulases	titulase	titulásemos	titulaseis	titulasen
	future1	titulare	titulares	titulare	tituláremos	titulareis	titularen
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		titulatú titulávos	titule	titulemos	titulad	titulen
	negative		no titules	no titule	no titulemos	no tituléis	no titulen

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of titular

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive titular	dative	titularme	titularte	titularle, titularse	titularnos	titularos	titularles, titularse
	accusative	titularme	titularte	titularlo, titularla, titularse	titularnos	titularos	titularlos, titularlas, titularse
with gerund titulando	dative	titulándome	titulándote	titulándole, titulándose	titulándonos	titulándoos	titulándoles, titulándose
	accusative	titulándome	titulándote	titulándolo, titulándola, titulándose	titulándonos	titulándoos	titulándolos, titulándolas, titulándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative titula	dative	titúlame	titúlate	titúlale	titúlanos	not used	titúlales
	accusative	titúlame	titúlate	titúlalo, titúlala	titúlanos	not used	titúlalos, titúlalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative titulá	dative	titulame	titulate	titulale	titulanos	not used	titulales
	accusative	titulame	titulate	titulalo, titulala	titulanos	not used	titulalos, titulalas
with formal second-person singular imperative titule	dative	titúleme	not used	titúlele, titúlese	titúlenos	not used	titúleles
	accusative	titúleme	not used	titúlelo, titúlela, titúlese	titúlenos	not used	titúlelos, titúlelas
with first-person plural imperative titulemos	dative	not used	titulémoste	titulémosle	titulémonos	titulémoos	titulémosles
	accusative	not used	titulémoste	titulémoslo, titulémosla	titulémonos	titulémoos	titulémoslos, titulémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative titulad	dative	tituladme	not used	tituladle	tituladnos	titulaos	tituladles
	accusative	tituladme	not used	tituladlo, tituladla	tituladnos	titulaos	tituladlos, tituladlas
with formal second-person plural imperative titulen	dative	titúlenme	not used	titúlenle	titúlennos	not used	titúlenles, titúlense
	accusative	titúlenme	not used	titúlenlo, titúlenla	titúlennos	not used	titúlenlos, titúlenlas, titúlense

Derived terms

• autotitularse

Related terms

• intitular

Further reading

• “titular”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025