sir
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English sir, unstressed form of sire, borrowed from Old French sire (“master, sir, lord”), from Latin senior (“older, elder”), from senex (“old”). Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senhor, senior, señor, signor, and sire.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɜː(ɹ)/
- (General American) enPR: ˈsûr, IPA(key): /ˈsɝ/
Audio (US) (file)
- (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈsɪɹ/
- (Indian English) IPA(key): /ˈsə(ɹ)/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
Noun[edit]
sir (plural sirs)
- A man of a higher rank or position.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1991 May 12, "Kidnapped!" Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5:
- A respectful term of address to an adult male (often older), especially if his name or proper title is unknown.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb[edit]
sir (third-person singular simple present sirs, present participle sirring, simple past and past participle sirred)
- To address (someone) using "sir".
- 1997, Ed Solomon, Men in Black, spoken by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones):
- Don't "Sir" me, young man, you have no idea who you're dealing with!
Translations[edit]
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See also[edit]
- lord
- (titles) (of a man): Mr (Mister, mister), Sir (sir); (of a woman): Ms (Miz, mizz), Mrs (Mistress, mistress), Miss (miss), Dame (dame), Madam (madam, ma'am); (of a non-binary person): Mx (Mixter); (see also): Dr (Doctor, doctor) (Category: en:Titles)
Further reading[edit]
- “sir”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “sir”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams[edit]
Ainu[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
sir
Chinese[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
sir (Cantonese)
- a respectful honorific to a man senior than oneself
Related terms[edit]
Irish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
sir (present analytic sireann, future analytic sirfidh, verbal noun sireadh, past participle sirthe)
- (literary) travel through, traverse
- (literary) seek out, have recourse to
- (literary) seek, ask for
- An té a shireas ní ar neach. ― Whoever asks someone for something.
- (literary) beseech, implore
- Sirim an tAthair. ― I beseech the Father.
Conjugation[edit]
* Indirect relative
† Archaic or dialect form
‡‡ Dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis
Middle English[edit]
Noun[edit]
sir
- Alternative form of sire
Romanian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Unadapted borrowing from English sir.
Noun[edit]
sir m (uncountable)
Declension[edit]
Scottish Gaelic[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Irish sirid (“to traverse, seek”). Cognate with Manx shirr.
Verb[edit]
sir (past shir, future siridh, verbal noun sireadh, past participle sirte)
Mutation[edit]
Scottish Gaelic mutation | |
---|---|
Radical | Lenition |
sir | shir after "an", t-sir |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Serbo-Croatian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Slavic *syrъ, derived from "sour milk".
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
sȉr m (Cyrillic spelling си̏р)
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Slovene[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Slavic *syrъ, derived from "sour milk".
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
sȉr m inan
Inflection[edit]
Masculine inan., hard o-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | sìr | ||
gen. sing. | síra | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative (imenovȃlnik) |
sìr | síra | síri |
genitive (rodȋlnik) |
síra | sírov | sírov |
dative (dajȃlnik) |
síru | síroma | sírom |
accusative (tožȋlnik) |
sìr | síra | síre |
locative (mẹ̑stnik) |
síru | sírih | sírih |
instrumental (orọ̑dnik) |
sírom | síroma | síri |
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “sir”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
Uzbek[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
sir (plural sirlar)
Declension[edit]
Synonyms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
sir (plural sirlar)
Declension[edit]
Welsh[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
sir f (plural siroedd, not mutable)
Derived terms[edit]
- sirol (adjective)
Further reading[edit]
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “sir”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
Zay[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Cognate to Silt'e [script needed] (sa:r).
Noun[edit]
sir
References[edit]
- Initial SLLE Survey of the Zway Area by Klaus Wedekind and Charlotte Wedekind, SIL International 2002, p. 6 (sil.org)
Zazaki[edit]

Etymology[edit]
Compare Persian سیر (sir, “garlic”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
sir
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *sénos
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)/1 syllable
- English lemmas
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- en:Titles
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- Irish first-conjugation verbs of class A
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- Romanian terms borrowed from English
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- Romanian lemmas
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- Romanian uncountable nouns
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- Scottish Gaelic terms inherited from Old Irish
- Scottish Gaelic terms derived from Old Irish
- Scottish Gaelic lemmas
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- Serbo-Croatian terms inherited from Proto-Slavic
- Serbo-Croatian terms derived from Proto-Slavic
- Serbo-Croatian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
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- sh:Cheeses
- Slovene terms inherited from Proto-Slavic
- Slovene terms derived from Proto-Slavic
- Slovene 1-syllable words
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- Slovene lemmas
- Slovene nouns
- Slovene masculine inanimate nouns
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- sl:Cheeses
- Uzbek terms borrowed from Russian
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- Uzbek lemmas
- Uzbek nouns
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- Welsh terms borrowed from English
- Welsh terms derived from English
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- Rhymes:Welsh/iːr
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- Zay lemmas
- Zay nouns
- Zazaki terms with IPA pronunciation
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- zza:Spices and herbs