Norodom Sihanouk

His Majesty King-Father Norodom Sihanouk (Khmer: Mul script ; regular script ) (name pronounced {{IPA|/nɔɾoːdɔm siːhanuʔ/}} in Khmer; in French), the son of King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Sisowath Kossamak, reigned as King of Cambodia until he announced his abdication on October 7 2004, and is now "King-Father of Cambodia", a position in which he retains many of his former prerogatives as king.

Sihanouk's name

Since his abdication, his official Cambodian title (short version, the most used) is:"Preah Karuna Preah Bat Sâmdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preahmâhaviraksat"In Khmer:

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The literal meaning of the title is:Preah ("sacred", cognate of the Indian word Brahmin) Karuna ("compassionate", a Buddhist concept, see Karuna) Preah ("sacred") Bat ("foot", from Sanskrit {{IPA|p?da}}, cognate of Latin pes, pedis, French pied) Sâmdech ("Lord, Prince, Excellency") Preah ("sacred") Norodom (given name of King Norodom of Cambodia, used as a family name by his descendants) Sihanouk (given name of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk; it is a contraction of Siha- meaning "lion", from Sanskrit {{IPA|siṃha}}, cognate of "Singa-" in Singapore; and -hanouk, from Sanskrit hanu, meaning "jaws") Preahmâhavirakast (Preah- "sacred"; -mâha- from Sanskrit, meaning "great", cognate with "maha-" in maharaja; -vira- from Sanskrit {{IPA|v?ra}}, meaning "brave or eminent man, hero, chief", cognate of Latin vir, viris, English virile; and -ksat meaning "warrior, ruler", cognate of the Indian word Kshatriya).

Related Topics:
Brahmin - Karuna - Latin - French - Norodom of Cambodia - Maharaja - Kshatriya

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The word "father" does not appear in the Cambodian title, but in western languages his title is translated as "His Majesty King-Father Norodom Sihanouk", to distinguish from the title of his son the new king which is "His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni".

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Despite the great ritualism surrounding the Cambodian monarchy, Prince/King Sihanouk has always favored informal relations with the Cambodian people, and when addressing him, or talking about him, they most often call him Sâmdech Euv (), which literally means "Prince Dad", "My Lord Dad" (French: "Monseigneur Papa").

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