Excellentie

Excellentie is a formal honorific used to address or refer to high-ranking officials and dignitaries in Dutch-speaking contexts and in other languages. The term derives from Latin excellens or excellere, meaning outstanding, and entered modern usage through French excellence and English excellency before taking root in Dutch as excellentie.

In Dutch, the term marks respect for people such as ambassadors, ministers, governors-general, and other high-ranking civil or clerical officials. In written and spoken Dutch it appears in third-person references as "Zijn Excellentie" or "Haar Excellentie" and in direct address as "Uw Excellentie." In English, the corresponding form is "Your Excellency," a standard address for ambassadors and other senior officials, and it is also used for some bishops or archbishops in certain contexts.

Usage is most common in formal diplomacy, state ceremonies, and official correspondence; everyday language generally avoids it except in historical or ceremonial reporting. Variants and scope vary by country: some nations reserve Excellentie for ambassadors, while others extend it to ministers or governors-general. The title is distinct from other honorifics such as "Your Worship" or "Your Grace" and remains largely ceremonial rather than administrative in function.