sir

See also: SIR, Sir, sır, sír, sîr, șir, şîr, and siR

English

Etymology

From Middle English sir, borrowed from Old French sire (master, sir, lord), from Latin senior (older, elder), from senex (old). Compare sire, signor, seignior, señor.

Pronunciation

Noun

sir (plural sirs)

  1. A man of a higher rank or position.
  2. A respectful term of address to a man of higher rank or position, particularly:
    • 1991 May 12, "Kidnapped!" Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5:
      Jeeves: Foreign travel often liberates emotions best kept in check, sir. The air of North America is notoriously stimulating in this regard, as witness the regrettable behavior of its inhabitants in 1776.
      B. Wooster: Hm? What happened in 1776, Jeeves?
      Jeeves: I prefer not to dwell on it, if it's convenient to you, sir.
    1. to a knight or other low member of the peerage.
      Just be careful. He gets whingy now if you don't address him as Sir John.
    2. to a superior military officer.
      Sir, yes sir.
    3. to a teacher.
      Here's my report, sir.
  3. A respectful term of address to any male, especially if his name or proper title is unknown.
    Excuse me, sir, do you know the way to the art museum?

Coordinate terms

  • (address for a military superior officer): ma'am
  • (address for a teacher): miss
  • (address for stranger): madam, ma'am, miss

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Verb

sir (third-person singular simple present sirs, present participle sirring, simple past and past participle sirred)

  1. To address (someone) using "sir".
    Sir, yes, sir!
    Don't you sir me, private! I work for a living!

Coordinate terms

See also

Further reading

  • sir in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • sir in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams


Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Verb

sir (past shir, future siridh, verbal noun sireadh, past participle sirte)

  1. seek, search, look for

Synonyms


Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *syrъ, derived from "sour milk"

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sîr/

Noun

sȉr m (Cyrillic spelling си̏р)

  1. cheese

Declension

Derived terms


Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *syrъ, derived from "sour milk"

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsír/
  • Tonal orthography: sȉr

Noun

sìr m inan (genitive síra, nominative plural síri)

  1. cheese

Declension


Uzbek

Noun

sir (plural sirlar)

  1. secret
  2. cheese

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from English shire.

Noun

sir f (plural siroedd)

  1. county, shire

Zay

Etymology

Cognate to Silt'e [script needed] (sa:r).

Noun

sir

  1. grass

Zazaki

garlic

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈsiɾ]
  • Hyphenation: sir

Etymology

Compare Persian سیر (sir, garlic).

Noun

sir m

  1. garlic

References

  • Initial SLLE Survey of the Zway Area by Klaus Wedekind and Charlotte Wedekind
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