sir

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sir"

English

Alternative forms

• saar (India)

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, senyor, signore, and sire.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜː(ɹ)/
• (General American) enPR: ˈsûr, IPA^(key): /ˈsɝ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɹ/
• (unstressed form) IPA^(key): /sə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)

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!”, in 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

3. 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

• dear Sir
• dear Sir or Madam
• dear Sirs
• don't call me sir, I work for a living
• mamsir
• nossuh
• siree
• siress
• Sir Francis Drake Channel
• Sir John Lack-Latin
• sirrah
• sirree
• sir sandwich
• 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 (gl) 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 (gl) 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 (ʔustāḏ), سَيِّد m (sayyid), سَيِّدِي m (sayyidī), حَضْرَتَك m (ḥaḍratak), أَفَنْدِي m (ʔafandī), 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) (jonab)
• 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)

  Hokkien: 先生 (zh-min-nan) (sian-siⁿ, sin-seⁿ, sian-seⁿ)

  Mandarin: 先生 (zh) (xiānsheng)

• 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 (ja) (sā) (in translations from English), 旦那様 (だんなさま, danna-sama)
• Kazakh: мырза (myrza)
• Khmer: ភោ (phoo)
• Korean: 선생님 (ko) (seonsaengnim), 씨 (ko) (-ssi), 아저씨 (ko) (ajeossi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: کاک (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

• Occitan: senhor (oc) m
• Pashto: آقا m (aqā), آغا m (āǧā), ښاغلى m (x̌āǧᶕlay), 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), сер m (ser) (in translations from English)
• 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)

1. (transitive, informal) To address another individual using "sir".

   Coordinate terms: ma'am, mam

   Sir, yes, sir! —Don't you sir me, private! I work for a living!

   • 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

to address (someone) using "sir"

• Hungarian: uraz (hu)

See also

• 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

• “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

• Sri, IRS, RSI, ISR, IRs, Isr., R.I.S., RIs, SRI, R. I. S., RIS

Ainu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siɾ/, [ʃiɾ]

Noun

sir (Kana spelling シㇼ)

1. appearance
2. earth
3. land, mountain

Chinese

Etymology 1

From English sir.

Alternative forms

• ⿰⿳⿰SIR木阝 — humorous

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): soe⁴

---

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

Noun

sir (Cantonese)

1. an honorific to a man senior than oneself, especially a teacher or a police officer

   陳sir／陈sir [Cantonese]  ―  can^4-2 soe⁴ [Jyutping]  ―  Mr. Chan

   • (Can we date this quote?), 夏雨田, 黄俊英, 借电话‎^[1]:

     我聽講我哋三樓同埋四樓嗰個譚sir呀周sir呀，噉樣佢哋已經申請緊 [Cantonese, trad.]
     我听讲我哋三楼同埋四楼嗰个谭sir呀周sir呀，噉样佢哋已经申请紧 [Cantonese, simp.]

     ngo⁵ teng¹ gong² ngo⁵ dei⁶ saam¹ lau^4-2 tung⁴ maai⁴ sei³ lau^4-2 go² go³ taam^4-2 soe⁴ aa³ zau¹ soe⁴ aa³, gam² joeng^6-2 keoi⁵ dei⁶ ji⁵ ging¹ san¹ cing² gan² [Jyutping]

     I hear that Mr. Tam on the 3rd floor and Mr. Chau on the fourth floor have already applied [for telephone installation].

Related terms

• 阿Sir

Etymology 2

Romanisation of 瀡 (soe⁴), influenced by spelling of English sir. Not related to English sir semantically.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): soe⁴

---

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

Verb

sir (Cantonese)

1. Nonstandard form of 瀡 (soe⁴).

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɪɾʲ/

Verb

sir (present analytic sireann, future analytic sirfidh, verbal noun sireadh, past participle sirthe)

1. (literary) travel through, traverse
2. (literary) seek out, have recourse to
3. (literary) seek, ask for

   An té a shireas ní ar neach. ― Whoever asks someone for something.

4. (literary) beseech, implore

   Sirim an tAthair. ― I beseech the Father.

Conjugation

conjugation of sir (first conjugation – A)

		singular			plural			relative	autonomous
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	present	sirim	sireann tú; sirir†	sireann sé, sí	sirimid	sireann sibh	sireann siad; sirid†	a shireann; a shireas / a sireann*	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 / sirteᇇ	shireadh sé, sí / sireadh sé, s퇇	shirimis; shireadh muid / sirimis‡‡; sireadh muid‡‡	shireadh sibh / sireadh sibh‡‡	shiridís; shireadh siad / siridís‡‡; sireadh siad‡‡	a shireadh / a sireadh*	shirtí / sirt퇇
future		sirfidh mé; sirfead	sirfidh tú; sirfir†	sirfidh sé, sí	sirfimid; sirfidh muid	sirfidh sibh	sirfidh siad; sirfid†	a shirfidh; a shirfeas / a sirfidh*	sirfear
conditional		shirfinn / sirfinn‡‡	shirfeá / sirfeᇇ	shirfeadh sé, sí / sirfeadh sé, s퇇	shirfimis; shirfeadh muid / sirfimis‡‡; sirfeadh muid‡‡	shirfeadh sibh / sirfeadh sibh‡‡	shirfidís; shirfeadh siad / sirfidís‡‡; sirfeadh siad‡‡	a shirfeadh / a sirfeadh*	shirfí / sirf퇇
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
	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

Javanese

Romanization

sir

1. Romanization of ꦱꦶꦂ

Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiːr/

Verb

sir

1. second-person singular imperative of sar

Middle English

Noun

sir

1. Alternative form of sire

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sir.

Noun

sir m (uncountable)

1. sir

Declension

Declension of sir

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	sir	sirul
genitive-dative	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)

1. seek, search, look for

   Synonym: lorg

Mutation

Mutation of sir

radical	lenition
sir	shir after "an", t-sir

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sîr/

Noun

sȉr m (Cyrillic spelling си̏р)

1. 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

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sír/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

sȉr m inan

1. cheese

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

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

Further reading

• “sir”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Uzbek

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Russian сыр (syr).

Noun

sir (plural sirlar)

1. 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
similative	sirdek	sirlardek

Possessive forms of sir

1st person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	sirim	sirlarim
genitive	sirimning	sirlarimning
dative	sirimga	sirlarimga
definite accusative	sirimni	sirlarimni
locative	sirimda	sirlarimda
ablative	sirimdan	sirlarimdan
similative	sirimdek	sirlarimdek
2nd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	siring	sirlaring
genitive	siringning	sirlaringning
dative	siringga	sirlaringga
definite accusative	siringni	sirlaringni
locative	siringda	sirlaringda
ablative	siringdan	sirlaringdan
similative	siringdek	sirlaringdek
3rd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan
similative	siridek	sirlaridek
1st person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	sirimiz	sirlarimiz
genitive	sirimizning	sirlarimizning
dative	sirimizga	sirlarimizga
definite accusative	sirimizni	sirlarimizni
locative	sirimizda	sirlarimizda
ablative	sirimizdan	sirlarimizdan
similative	sirimizdek	sirlarimizdek
2nd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	siringiz	sirlaringiz
genitive	siringizning	sirlaringizning
dative	siringizga	sirlaringizga
definite accusative	siringizni	sirlaringizni
locative	siringizda	sirlaringizda
ablative	siringizdan	sirlaringizdan
similative	siringizdek	sirlaringizdek
3rd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan
similative	siridek	sirlaridek

Synonyms

pishloq

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic سِرّ (sirr).

Noun

sir (plural sirlar)

1. 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
similative	sirdek	sirlardek

Possessive forms of sir

1st person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	sirim	sirlarim
genitive	sirimning	sirlarimning
dative	sirimga	sirlarimga
definite accusative	sirimni	sirlarimni
locative	sirimda	sirlarimda
ablative	sirimdan	sirlarimdan
similative	sirimdek	sirlarimdek
2nd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	siring	sirlaring
genitive	siringning	sirlaringning
dative	siringga	sirlaringga
definite accusative	siringni	sirlaringni
locative	siringda	sirlaringda
ablative	siringdan	sirlaringdan
similative	siringdek	sirlaringdek
3rd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan
similative	siridek	sirlaridek
1st person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	sirimiz	sirlarimiz
genitive	sirimizning	sirlarimizning
dative	sirimizga	sirlarimizga
definite accusative	sirimizni	sirlarimizni
locative	sirimizda	sirlarimizda
ablative	sirimizdan	sirlarimizdan
similative	sirimizdek	sirlarimizdek
2nd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	siringiz	sirlaringiz
genitive	siringizning	sirlaringizning
dative	siringizga	sirlaringizga
definite accusative	siringizni	sirlaringizni
locative	siringizda	sirlaringizda
ablative	siringizdan	sirlaringizdan
similative	siringizdek	sirlaringizdek
3rd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	siri	sirlari
genitive	sirining	sirlarining
dative	siriga	sirlariga
definite accusative	sirini	sirlarini
locative	sirida	sirlarida
ablative	siridan	sirlaridan
similative	siridek	sirlaridek

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle English shire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siːr/
  • (South Wales, colloquial also) IPA^(key): /ʃiːr/
• Rhymes: -iːr
• Homophone: sur (South Wales)

Noun

sir f (plural siroedd, not mutable)

1. county, shire

   Synonym: swydd

Derived terms

• sirol (“relating to a county”)

Zay

Etymology

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

Noun

sir

1. 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 سیر (sir, “garlic”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

sir

1. garlic