# 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, General Australian) IPA: /sɜː/
* (General American) enPR: ˈsûr, IPA: /sɝ/
** Audio (US):(file)
* (Scotland) IPA: /sɪɹ/
* (New Zealand) IPA: /søː/
* (Liverpool, fair–fur merger) IPA: /seː/
* (Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger) IPA: /sɛː/
* (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA: /sɜː(ɹ)/
* (unstressed form) IPA: /sə(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!”, 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.
** 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.
** to a superior military officer.
    Coordinate term: ma'am
    Sir, yes sir.
** to a teacher.
    Coordinate term: miss
    Here's my report, sir.
* A respectful term of address to an adult male (often older), especially if his name or proper title is unknown.
    Coordinate terms: madam, ma'am, miss
    Excuse me, sir, do you know the way to the art museum?

#### 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

#### Descendants

* Tamil: சார் (cār)

#### Translations

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

### Verb

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

### Further reading

* “sir”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “sir”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

### Anagrams

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

## Ainu
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /siɾ/, [ʃiɾ]

### Noun

sir (Kana spelling シㇼ)
* appearance
* earth
* land, mountain

## Chinese
### Etymology 1

From English sir.

#### Alternative forms

* ⿰⿳⿰SIR木阝 — humorous

#### Pronunciation

* Cantonese (Jyutping): soe$^4$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: soe$^4$
*** Yale: sèuh
*** Cantonese Pinyin: soe$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: sê$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /sœː²¹/

#### Noun

sir (Cantonese)
* an honorific to a man senior than oneself, especially a teacher or a police officer
    陳sir／陈sir [Cantonese] ― can$^{4-2}$ soe$^4$ [Jyutping] ― Mr. Chan
** (Can we date this quote?), 夏雨田, 黄俊英, 借电话‎:
       ngo$^5$ teng$^1$ gong$^2$ ngo$^5$ dei$^6$ saam$^1$ lau$^{4-2}$ tung$^4$ maai$^4$ sei$^3$ lau$^{4-2}$ go$^2$ go$^3$ taam$^{4-2}$ soe$^4$ aa$^3$ zau$^1$ soe$^4$ aa$^3$, gam$^2$ joeng$^{6-2}$ keoi$^5$ dei$^6$ ji$^5$ ging$^1$ san$^1$ cing$^2$ gan$^2$ [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 (soe$^4$), influenced by spelling of English sir. Not related to English sir semantically.

#### Pronunciation

* Cantonese (Jyutping): soe$^4$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: soe$^4$
*** Yale: sèuh
*** Cantonese Pinyin: soe$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: sê$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /sœː²¹/

#### Verb

sir (Cantonese)
* Nonstandard form of 瀡 (soe$^4$).

## Irish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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

| verbal noun | sireadh | sireadh | sireadh | sireadh | sireadh | sireadh | sireadh | sireadh |
| past participle | sirthe | sirthe | sirthe | sirthe | sirthe | sirthe | sirthe | sirthe |
| tense | singular | singular | singular | plural | plural | plural | relative | autonomous |
| tense | 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* | 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* | 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 |
| 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 |
* indirect relative † archaic or dialect form ‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

## Javanese
### Romanization

sir
* Romanization of ꦱꦶꦂ

## Maltese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈsiːr/

### Verb

sir
* second-person singular imperative of sar

## Middle English
### Noun

sir
* Alternative form of sire

## Romanian
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sir.

### Noun

sir m (uncountable)
* sir

#### Declension
## 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

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: /sîr/
* This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

### Noun

sȉr m (Cyrillic spelling си̏р)
* cheese

#### Derived terms

* sȋrnī

## Slovene
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /sír/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

sȉr m inan
* cheese

#### 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)
* cheese

##### Synonyms

pishloq

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic سِرّ (sirr).

#### Noun

sir (plural sirlar)
* secret

##### Declension
## Welsh
### Etymology

Borrowed from Middle English shire.

### Pronunciation

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

### Noun

sir f (plural siroedd, not mutable)
* county, shire
    Synonym: swydd

#### Derived terms

* sirol (“relating to a county”)

### References

* ↑ 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
### 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
### Etymology

Compare Persian سیر (sir, “garlic”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈsiɾ]
* Hyphenation: sir

### Noun

sir
* garlic