[HPforGrownups] Re: the term "professor" and titles in general (was: Snape's hair and status)

[Odile Falaise]

No: HPFGUIDX 58571

Patti muddied the cross-Atlantic waters a little more
by writing:
<<<in the US "Professor" is often more a title than
indication of rank. For 
instance in most US universities, the title "Doctor"
is more 
prestigious than "Professor", as Professor can be used
to address a 
teacher at the university level who does not have a
Ph.D. Most 
faculty members (who have Ph.D's) are addressed as
Doctor. >>> <snip>

And now I [Odile] am going to make the waters even
murkier:

When I was at university (both graduate and
under-graduate), I understood that those who were PhDs
and could therefore be addressed as "Doctor" were
squeamish about it and tended to look down on those
who insisted on being addressed as Doctor.  Weird.  Or
maybe it was just my Latin Professor who thought that
way.

But anyway, that's going way far afield from the topic
at hand...

Back to res Harrius Pottericus, why is it that some
female teachers are addressed as "Madame" (Madame
Pomfrey, Madame Hooch) and some are addressed as
"Professor" (Professor McGonagall)?  I know that this
is (probably) movie contamination, but I always
wondered about it because in film version of CoS,
Dumbledore addresses Sprout as both Madame and
Professor.  They're not interchangeable, are they?  Is
"Madame" an honorific?

And while I'm at it, why is Voldemort a "Lord," yet
the seemingly aristocratic Malfoy is "Mister"?  Or is
that movie contamination as well?

Odile, confident that our excellent friends in the UK
will be kind enough to explain this to me...