Şehzade
Şehzade () is the Ottoman form of the Persian title "Shahzadeh", and refers to the male descendants of an Ottoman sovereign in the male line. This title is equivalent to "prince of the blood imperial" in English. Origin. "Şehzade" derives from the Persian word "shahzadeh" or "shahzada". In the realm of a shah (or shahanshah), a prince or princess of the blood was logically called "shahzada", the term being derived from "shah" using the Persian patronymic suffix "-zādeh" or "-zada", meaning "son of", "daughter of", "descendant of", or "born of". However, the precise full styles can differ in the court  traditions of each monarchy. Usage in Ottoman royalty. In Ottoman royalty, the title "şehzade" designates male descendants of sovereigns in the male line. In formal address, this title is used with title "sultan" before a given name, reflecting the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as a family prerogative. Only a "şehzade" had the right to succeed to the throne. Before the reign of Mehmed II (1444-1446 and 1451-1481), sons of sultans used the title "Çelebi" after their name. The formal way of addressing a şehzade is "Devletlû Najabatlu Şehzade Sultan" (given name) "Hazretleri Efendi", i.e., Sultan Imperial Prince  (given name) or simply Imperial Prince (given name). The style of consorts of şehzades is "hanımefendi". Sons of şehzades also carried the same title as their fathers, and daughters of şehzades hold the title "sultan" after their name. The Osmanoğlu family continues to use these titles. Ottoman Crown Prince. A designated crown prince used the title of "Vali Ahad" or "Veli Ahd" (), meaning "the successor by virtue of a covenant", and the full style of "Devletlû Najabatlu Valiahd-i Saltanat Şehzade-i Javanbahd" (given name) "Efendi Hazretleri". The title for consorts of crown princes was "Vali Ahad Zevcesi", with the  full style of "Veliahd Zevcesi" (given name) (rank) "Hanımefendi Hazretleri". Feminine equivalent. There is no feminine equivalent of "şehzade" or special title for princesses in Ottoman royalty. In Persian, "shahzade" is used for both male and female descendants of a monarch. The royalty of the Indian Mughal Empire used the title "shahzada" for princes and the feminine equivalent of this title, "shahzadi", for princesses. Before the 16th century, Ottoman imperial princesses and consorts of the Sultan held the same title after their given name, "hatun", the Turkish form of the Mongolian title "khatun" (the feminine equivalent of "khan"). By the  beginning of the 16th century, Ottoman princesses held the title of "sultan" after their given name, titles that were also held by other prominent members of the Ottoman imperial family: the emperor (together with "khan"), princes (together with title "şehzade"), the emperor's legal mother (together with title "valide"), the chief consort of the emperor (together with title "haseki"), the daughters of princesses (together with title "hanım"), and the sons of princesses (together with Persian patronymic suffix "-zāde"). This usage underlines the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as family prerogative. The formal way of addressing an Ottoman princess is "Devletlû  İsmetlu" (given name) "Sultân Aliyyetü'ş-Şân Hazretleri", i.e., Sultana (given name). The title of sons of princesses are "sultanzade" and daughters of princesses are "hanimsultan". The title of the consorts of princesses are called "damat". "Sultana", a title which usually referred to female sultans relative to Westerners, does not exist in the Ottoman language. Nevertheless, westerners often translated their official title, sultan, to sultana, possibly to distinguish them from the Ottoman sovereign.