Doctor is a masculine noun used to characterize a person promoted to the highest academic title, after defending a thesis in any artistic, scientific or literary discipline.
The title of doctor is also equivalent to PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), name used in Anglo-Saxon universities. Typically, doctoral degrees are listed after the name of the holder. Ex: Fábio Costa, PhD.
The term is popularly used to refer to someone who is highly educated in any field or who dictates rules and thoughts on any subject. It is also popularly used as a form of respectful treatment in recognition of one's hierarchical superiority.
Example:“Doctor Oswaldo, a man of many means, waits for you in his office to speak to you”.
It is also often used to refer to a person who has graduated from higher education courses in medicine and law.
Example:"The doctor examined the patient carefully."
In the case of the medical professional, the abbreviation of the word doctor is used before the name of the professional. Ex: Dr. Pedro Correa.
The term also refers to characters belonging to the category of bosses of the commedia dell'arte and in many artistic works.
The word comes from Latin doctor, iris which means “master, preceptor, what teaches”.