On Sat, 15 Apr 2017 20:02:33 -0400, Jonathan Clark <xxxxxx@att.net>
wrote:

[Quoting me]

>>     .. for a person who is in the below described relationship with a
>>     scion of a noble or wealthy-and-socially-prominent line:

>I suggest that this would be a prestigious position, possibly associated with
>mental conditioning (cf the Suk School in Dune). After all, they are basically
>training the next generation of leaders. You probably don't want J Random Loony
>in such a position...

Oh, this is definitely a position that carries prestige among those
"in the know", and it was openly prestigious in the Jao Empire stories
that I'm trying to borrow the idea from - pretty much only the /nai
camiti/ of a high-ranked and wealthy /kochan/ would have a /fraghta/
assigned to them, and while the /fraghta/ was mostly unobtrusive and
not generally noticed as a "who", the fact that the /fraghta/ _was_,
and was assigned to a (Jao) person never went unnoticed - and
signalled to all Jao just how valuable the /fraghta/'s "principal" was
viewed.

I'm going to take this opportunity to discuss - briefly - the problems
I see with many other suggestions. In general, the suggestions tended
to have meanings or associations that were too specific in some way:

Sensei -      In general, a 'sensei' is perceived as a trainer in what
              are commonly called "martial arts", and specifically the
              "oriental" subset: judo, karate, aikido, jiu-jitsu, and
              the like. The general advisor role, and the facilitator
              role, are definitely well outside the normal perception
              attached to the word 'sensei'.

Swordmaster - Without having encountered this term previously, a quick
              google argues against this as being appropriate for the
              role as described, for essentially the same reasons as
              'sensei' - the focus is on the combat training, and this
              is _not_ what the Jao /fraghta/'s principal role is,
              though they may take it on early in the Jao
              "principal's" life.

Mentor -      probably the best suggestion so far, but doesn't "feel"
              right; the public part of the relationship has the
              /fraghta/ being "part of the 'principal's' staff", or
              maybe 'chief of staff', and I just don't see a "mentor"
              being in that role - the opposite would be more likely,
              I would think - that is, the 'principal' is the mentor's
              chief of staff as his last "relationship" before they
              separate and the 'principal' goes on his own.

"Jeeves", Valet, "Gentleman's Gentleman" - Different ways, more or
              less, of saying the same thing. Almost works,
              conceptually, except that the /fraghta/ isn't really a
              personal servant the way these terms imply.

Batman -      No, not Bruce Wayne. Alfred might be closer. But the
              problems here are first the advisory role, which, while
              it might exist, is strongly downplayed in the general
              perception of the role, and second, the personal servant
              part of the 'batman' definition.

              That said, there _is_ a military relationship that just
              might possibly be a good match: There's no defined term
              for it that I'm aware of, but the crusty old career
              sergeant really does more-or-less act as /fraghta/ to
              the wet-behind-the-ears butterbar whose commission is
              still so new it squeaks.

Sifu -        Better than 'Sensei', but still tends to carry
              implications of specialization and/or of martial arts.
              Similarly, 'guru', with the special focus being
              spiritual philosophy.

Squire -      Almost the exact opposite of the desired relationship.
              The squire is there to be advised and taught by the
              principal, and is generally younger and less experienced
              than the principal.

Pedagogue, Tutor, Proctor, Didact - Perception here would be too
              focussed on 'book learning', not on learning-by-
              experience with the /fraghta/ mostly in the background.
              There's also the evolving role of the /fraghta/, and
              none of these words really cover that.

Consigliere - Another close one. May have problems because of the
              political overtones, but if it can be used for the
              'chief of staff', as opposed to the Prime Minister, it
              might be the best suggestion yet, even though it misses
              the bodyguard and teacher roles.

Honestly, the best word I have so far is /fraghta/, but there are
Reasons that I will not use it at present.

FWIW, whatever it's called, I think a whole lot of supposedly
important people in our society could use one.

But please, keep trying...