sire

Forms

sire m (plural sires)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sire, the nominative case, inherited from Vulgar Latin *seior, a contracted form of Latin senior (“older”), the comparative of senex (“old”).^[2][3][1][4] The accusative seniōrem gave seigneur.^[5][1][2] sieur is a doublet as well.^[1][2] Littré cites the older nominative sendra of the Oaths of Strasbourg.^[5] Respect for age led the word from the sense of an older man to that of a lord.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 980, in the Jonas fragment, meaning “master, lord” in speaking of God, a sense taken over by seigneur from the end of the 13th century.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

From about 1050 (Vie de saint Alexis) sire was the title used in addressing a sovereign, and it also meant a lord or landowner; in the Chanson de Roland it is a feudal lord.^[6][2] Joined to a personal name it became a polite title for burghers holding certain offices (about 1165), then for ordinary men, and it was also given to saints and clerics.^[6][2] In satirical literature it was used in mockery from the 12th century and as a title for animals standing for human types, still in La Fontaine.^[2][7] In private life it meant the husband, the master of the house and other heads of the family.^[2]

Its use beside personal names was considered old by Furetière in 1690, and the title was abolished in 1791–1792, though it stayed as a form of address to a king.^[6] Pejorative phrases appeared from the 15th century: beau sire “dupe” (1455), pauvre sire “poor fellow” (about 1650); only triste sire, a late archaism of the early 20th century, is in common use today.^[2][3]

The English word sire was borrowed from Old French about 1200.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 980 – Sire is used of God in the Jonas fragment.^[6]
• c. 1050 – The Vie de saint Alexis uses it as a title for a sovereign and for a lord.^[6]
• c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland has sire de Belne et de Digun, a feudal lord.^[6]
• c. 1165 – It is used before the names of burghers in Guillaume d'Angleterre.^[6]
• c. 1170 – The compound messire appears.^[2]
• c. 1200 – English borrows the word.^[8]
• 1455 – Beau sire means a dupe.^[2]
• c. 1650 – Pauvre sire “poor fellow” appears.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records the title as old.^[6]
• 1791–1792 – Sire is abolished as a title.^[6]
• 1907 – Larousse records triste sire.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) A feudal title of certain lords: le sire de Joinville.^[7][5]
2. (obsolete) A title taken by burghers holding certain offices, and jokingly given to animals in fables.^[7]
3. Pauvre sire: a poor wretch;^[7][3] triste sire: a disreputable fellow.^[7][3]
4. The title used in addressing a sovereign: Oui, Sire.^[7][3][6]

Word family

• messire
• sirerie

Related words

• monsieur
• seigneur
• sieur
• Latin senior
• English sire

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 454b
5. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com