The word 公主 (gōngzhǔ, "princess") is formed by combining the character 公 (gōng), which in ancient times referred to a duke or feudal lord (the highest-ranking noblemen below the king), with the character 主 (zhǔ), meaning "master" or "sovereign". Historically, during the Zhou dynasty, the term was not used for the king's own daughters initially; instead, when a king married off his daughter, he would not personally preside over the wedding ceremony, as that would lower her status relative to her future husband's family. Therefore, the highest-ranking male official, a 公 or duke, would act as the ceremonial "master" (主) of the wedding. Thus, the king's daughter came to be known as the "master [wedding presided over by a] duke", or 公主, which later evolved into a fixed title for an unmarried daughter of the sovereign.