sir

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sir"

English

Etymology

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

(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

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.
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.
  Coordinate term: ma'am
3. to a teacher.
  Here's my report, sir.
  Coordinate term: miss
A respectful term of address to an adult male (often older), especially if his name or proper title is unknown.
Excuse me, sir, do you know the way to the art museum?
Coordinate terms: madam, ma'am, miss

Derived terms

mamsir
nossuh
siree
siress
sirrah
sirree
yessuh

Related terms

senate
senex
senior
sire

Translations

man of a higher rank or position

Bulgarian: господи́н (bg) m (gospodín)
Dutch: heer (nl) m, meneer (nl) m
Finnish: herra (fi)
Galician: señor m
Greek: Σέρ m (Sér)
Hungarian: úr (hu)
Italian: signore (it) m
Japanese: 旦那 (ja) (だんな, danna)
Latvian: sers m
Lithuanian: ponas m
Middle English: sire
Polish: pan (pl) m
Portuguese: senhor (pt) m
Russian: господи́н (ru) m (gospodín)
Turkish: efendim (tr)
Ukrainian: пан (uk) m (pan)

address to a military superior

Chinese:
Cantonese: 蛇 (soe⁴), 阿蛇 (aa³ soe⁴)
Dutch: meneer (nl) m
Finnish: herra (fi) (followed by the name of the rank)
Galician: señor m
Hebrew: המפקד‎ m (hamfakéd)
Italian: signore (it) m
Portuguese: senhor (pt) m
Romanian: să trăiți (lit. "may you live")
Russian: (comrade) това́рищ (ru) m (továrišč) (+ military rank, in the Soviet/Russian Army), сэр (ru) m (sɛr) (in translations from English), господи́н (ru) m (gospodín) (+ military rank, in the Russian Army before 1917)
Turkish: komutanım

address to any male, especially if his name or proper address is unknown

Albanian: zotëri (sq) m
Arabic: أُسْتَاذ‎ (ar) m (ʾustāḏ), سَيِّد‎ m (sayyid), سَيِّدِي‎ m (sayyidī), حَضْرَتَك‎ m (ḥaḍratak), أَفَنْدِي‎ m (ʾafandī), بَاشَا‎ m (bāšā)
Armenian: պարոն (hy) (paron)
Azerbaijani: cənab (az), ağa (az), efendi (az)
Baluchi: واجہ‎ (wája)
Belarusian: спада́р (be) m (spadár), пан m (pan)
Bengali: জনাব (bn) (jônab)
Bulgarian: господи́н (bg) m (gospodín)
Burmese: ဦး (my) (u:), ခင်ဗျာ (my) (hkangbya) (used by males to address both males and females), ရှင် (my) (hrang) (used by females to address both males and females)
Catalan: senyor (ca) m
Chinese:
Cantonese: 先生 (sin¹ saang¹)
Dungan: щянсын (xi͡ansɨn)
Mandarin: 先生 (zh) (xiānsheng)
Min Nan: 先生 (zh-min-nan) (sian-siⁿ, sin-seⁿ, sian-seⁿ)
Czech: pan (cs) m, pán (cs) m, pane (cs) m (vocative)
Danish: herre (da) c, hr. (da) c
Dutch: meneer (nl) m, mijnheer (nl) m
Esperanto: sinjoro (eo)
Estonian: härra
Finnish: herra (fi)
French: monsieur (fr) m
Friulian: siôr m, signôr m, missâr m
Georgian: ბატონო (baṭono)
German: Herr (de) m, mein Herr m ("my lord")
Greek: κύριος (el) m (kýrios), κύριε (el) m (kýrie) (vocative)
Ancient Greek: μακάριε m (makárie) (vocative)
Haitian Creole: konpè, mesye
Hebrew: אֲדוֹנִי‎ (adoní)
Hindi: श्रीमान (hi) m (śrīmān), श्री (hi) ? (śrī), सर (hi) m (sar), साहिब (hi) m (sāhib), महोदय (hi) m (mahoday), जनाब (hi) m (janāb)
Hungarian: uram (hu)
Icelandic: herra (is) m
Indonesian: tuan (id), ustaz (id)
Italian: signore (it) m
Japanese: 旦那 (ja) (だんな, danna), サー (sā) (in translations from English), 旦那様 (だんなさま, danna-sama)
Kazakh: мырза (kk) (myrza)
Khmer: ភោ (phoo)
Korean: 선생님 (ko) (seonsaengnim), 씨 (ko) (-ssi), 아저씨 (ko) (ajeossi)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: کاک‎ (ku) (kak)
Northern Kurdish: birêz (ku), kek (ku), mîrza (ku), efendî (ku)
Kyrgyz: господин (ky) (gospodin), мырза (mırza), байке (ky) (bayke), аке (ky) (ake)
Lao: ທ່ານ (thān), ທ່ານເອີຽ (thān ʼœ̄i)
Latin: dominus (la) m, domine (la) m (vocative)
Latvian: kungs m
Lithuanian: ponas m, pone m (vocative)
Macedonian: го́сподин m (góspodin), госпо́дине m (gospódine) (vocative)
Malay: tuan (ms), ustaz
Maori: tā
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: ноён (mn) (nojon)
Mwali Comorian: bwana
Ndzwani Comorian: mwenye
Nepali: श्रीमान (srimān), श्री (sri)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: herre (no) m
Pashto: آقا‎ m (aqā), آغا‎ m (āǧā), ښاغلى‎ m (ӽāǧᶕlay), صاحب‎ (ps) m (sāheb)
Persian: آقا‎ (fa) (âqâ), جناب‎ (fa) (jenâb)
Polish: pan (pl) m, panie m (vocative)
Portuguese: senhor (pt) m
Quechua: wiraqucha (qu)
Romanian: domn (ro) m, (domnule) (vocative)
Russian: (obsolete) су́дарь (ru) m (súdarʹ), господи́н (ru) m (gospodín), сэр (ru) m (sɛr) (in translations from English)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: госпо̀дин m
Roman: gospòdin (sh) m
Slovak: pán (sk) m, pane (sk) m (vocative)
Slovene: gospod (sl) m
Spanish: señor (es) m
Swedish: herr (sv) c, herre (sv) c
Tajik: ҷаноб (tg) (janob), оғо (oġo)
Tatar: әфәнде (tt) (äfände)
Turkish: beyefendi (tr), efendi (tr), ağa (tr)
Turkmen: jenap (tk)
Ukrainian: пан (uk) m (pan)
Urdu: صاحب‎ m (sāhib), جناب‎ m (janāb), سر‎ (ur) m (sar)
Uyghur: جاناپ‎ (janap), ئەپەندى‎ (ependi), ئۇستاز‎ (ustaz), ئەپەندىم‎ (ependim)
Uzbek: janob (uz), agʻa, afandi (uz)
Vietnamese: ngài (vi), ông (vi)
Yiddish: הער‎ m (her)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Catalan: ^{(please verify)} senyor (ca) m
French: seigneur (fr) m
Italian: ^{(please verify)} signore (it) m
Spanish: ^{(please verify)} señor (es) m

Verb

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

To address (someone) using "sir".
Sir, yes, sir!
Don't you sir me, private! I work for a living!
Coordinate terms: ma'am, mam

Translations

to address (someone) using "sir"

Hungarian: uraz

Anagrams

IRS, IRs, ISR, Isr., RIS, RIs, RSI, SRI

Ainu

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /siɾ/, [ʃiɾ]

Noun

sir

appearance
earth
land, mountain

Chinese

Pronunciation

Cantonese (Jyutping): soe⁴

Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: soe⁴
  - Yale: sèuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: soe⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: sê⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sœː²¹/

Noun

sir (Cantonese)

a respectful honorific to a man senior than oneself
陳sir／陈sir [Cantonese] ― can^4-2 soe⁴ [Jyutping] ― Mr. Chan

Related terms

阿Sir

Irish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʃɪɾʲ/

Verb

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

First Conjugation (A)

		singular			plural			relative	autonomous
		first	second	third	first	second	third	relative	autonomous
indicative	present	sirim	sireann tú; sirir^†	sireann sé, sí	sirimid	sireann sibh	sireann siad; sirid^†	a shireann; a shireas / a sireann; a sireas	sirtear
	past	shir mé; shireas	shir tú; shiris	shir sé, sí	shireamar; shir muid	shir sibh; shireabhair	shir siad; shireadar	a shir / ar shir*	sireadh
	past habitual	shirinn / sirinn‡‡	shirteá / sirteá‡‡	shireadh sé, sí / sireadh sé, sí‡‡	shirimis; shireadh muid / sirimis‡‡; sireadh muid‡‡	shireadh sibh / sireadh sibh‡‡	shiridís; shireadh siad / siridís‡‡; sireadh siad‡‡	a shireadh / a sireadh*	shirtí / sirtí‡‡
	future	sirfidh mé; sirfead	sirfidh tú; sirfir^†	sirfidh sé, sí	sirfimid; sirfidh muid	sirfidh sibh	sirfidh siad; sirfid^†	a shirfidh; a shirfeas / a sirfidh; a sirfeas	sirfear
conditional		shirfinn / sirfinn‡‡	shirfeá / sirfeá‡‡	shirfeadh sé, sí / sirfeadh sé, sí‡‡	shirfimis; shirfeadh muid / sirfimis‡‡; sirfeadh muid‡‡	shirfeadh sibh / sirfeadh sibh‡‡	shirfidís; shirfeadh siad / sirfidís‡‡; sirfeadh siad‡‡	a shirfeadh / a sirfeadh*	shirfí / sirfí‡‡
subjunctive	present	go sire mé; go siread^†	go sire tú; go sirir^†	go sire sé, sí	go sirimid; go sire muid	go sire sibh	go sire siad; go sirid^†	—	go sirtear
subjunctive	past	dá sirinn	dá sirteá	dá sireadh sé, sí	dá sirimis; dá sireadh muid	dá sireadh sibh	dá siridís; dá sireadh siad	—	dá sirtí
imperative		sirim	sir	sireadh sé, sí	sirimis	sirigí; siridh^†	siridís	—	sirtear
verbal noun		sireadh
past participle		sirthe

* Indirect relative
† Archaic or dialect form
‡‡ Dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

Middle English

Noun

sir

Alternative form of sire

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sir.

Noun

sir m (uncountable)

sir

Declension

declension of sir (singular only)

	singular
m gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) sir	sirul
genitive/dative	(unui) sir	sirului
vocative	sirule

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish sirid (“to traverse, seek”). Cognate with Manx shirr.

Verb

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

seek, search, look for
Synonym: lorg

Mutation

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

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sîr/

Noun

sȉr m (Cyrillic spelling си̏р)

cheese

Declension

Declension of sir

	singular	plural
nominative	sȉr	sìrevi
genitive	sira	sireva
dative	siru	sirevima
accusative	sir	sireve
vocative	siru	sirevi
locative	siru	sirevima
instrumental	sirom	sirevima

Derived terms

sȋrnī

Slovene

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sír/

Noun

sȉr m inan

cheese

Inflection

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

síriti

Uzbek

Etymology 1

From Russian сыр (syr).

Noun

sir (plural sirlar)

cheese

Declension

Declension of sir

	singular	plural
nominative	sir	sirlar
genitive	sirning	sirlarning
dative	sirga	sirlarga
definite accusative	sirni	sirlarni
locative	sirda	sirlarda
ablative	sirdan	sirlardan

Possessive forms of sir

my	singular	plural
nominative	sirim	sirlarim
genitive	sirimning	sirlarimning
dative	sirimga	sirlarimga
definite accusative	sirimni	sirlarimni
locative	sirimda	sirlarimda
ablative	sirimdan	sirlarimdan
your	singular	plural
nominative	siring	sirlaring
genitive	siringning	sirlaringning
dative	siringga	sirlaringga
definite accusative	siringni	sirlaringni
locative	siringda	sirlaringda
ablative	siringdan	sirlaringdan
her/his/its	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan
our	singular	plural
nominative	sirimiz	sirlarimiz
genitive	sirimizning	sirlarimizning
dative	sirimizga	sirlarimizga
definite accusative	sirimizni	sirlarimizni
locative	sirimizda	sirlarimizda
ablative	sirimizdan	sirlarimizdan
your	singular	plural
nominative	siringiz	sirlaringiz
genitive	siringizning	sirlaringizning
dative	siringizga	sirlaringizga
definite accusative	siringizni	sirlaringizni
locative	siringizda	sirlaringizda
ablative	siringizdan	sirlaringizdan
their	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan

Synonyms

pishloq

Etymology 2

From Arabic سِرّ‎ (sirr).

Noun

sir (plural sirlar)

secret

Declension

Declension of sir

	singular	plural
nominative	sir	sirlar
genitive	sirning	sirlarning
dative	sirga	sirlarga
definite accusative	sirni	sirlarni
locative	sirda	sirlarda
ablative	sirdan	sirlardan

Possessive forms of sir

my	singular	plural
nominative	sirim	sirlarim
genitive	sirimning	sirlarimning
dative	sirimga	sirlarimga
definite accusative	sirimni	sirlarimni
locative	sirimda	sirlarimda
ablative	sirimdan	sirlarimdan
your	singular	plural
nominative	siring	sirlaring
genitive	siringning	sirlaringning
dative	siringga	sirlaringga
definite accusative	siringni	sirlaringni
locative	siringda	sirlaringda
ablative	siringdan	sirlaringdan
her/his/its	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan
our	singular	plural
nominative	sirimiz	sirlarimiz
genitive	sirimizning	sirlarimizning
dative	sirimizga	sirlarimizga
definite accusative	sirimizni	sirlarimizni
locative	sirimizda	sirlarimizda
ablative	sirimizdan	sirlarimizdan
your	singular	plural
nominative	siringiz	sirlaringiz
genitive	siringizning	sirlaringizning
dative	siringizga	sirlaringizga
definite accusative	siringizni	sirlaringizni
locative	siringizda	sirlaringizda
ablative	siringizdan	sirlaringizdan
their	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from English shire.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /siːr/
Rhymes: -iːr

Noun

sir f (plural siroedd, not mutable)

county, shire

Derived terms

sirol (adjective)

Zay

Etymology

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

Noun

sir

grass

References

Initial SLLE Survey of the Zway Area by Klaus Wedekind and Charlotte Wedekind, SIL International 2002, p. 6 (sil.org)

Zazaki

garlic

Etymology

Compare Persian ‎ (sir, “garlic”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈsiɾ]
Hyphenation: sir

Noun

sir m

garlic

sir

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

Translations

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Ainu

Pronunciation

Noun

Chinese

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Irish

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Middle English

Noun

Romanian

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Verb

Mutation

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Slovene

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Inflection

Derived terms

Further reading

Uzbek

Etymology 1

Noun

Declension

Synonyms

Etymology 2

Noun

Declension

Welsh

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Further reading

Zay

Etymology

Noun

References

Zazaki

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun