sire

Borrowed from Old French sire, the nominative singular of seignor; from Latin senior, from senex

• IPA^(key): /saɪə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

As King of England, William III would be addressed as Your Majesty or sire.

Darley Arabian, one of the foundation sires of the thoroughbred breed of horse.

sire (plural sires)

1. A lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when addressing a sovereign.
2. A male animal; a stud, especially a horse or dog, that has fathered another.
3. (obsolete) A father; the head of a family; the husband.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     And raise his issue, like a loving sire.

4. (obsolete) A creator; a maker; an author; an originator.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shelley

     [He] was the sire of an immortal strain.

sire (third-person singular simple present sires, present participle siring, simple past and past participle sired)

1. (transitive, of a male) to procreate; to father, beget, impregnate.
   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 6:

     In these travels, my father sired thirteen children in all, four boys and nine girls.

• EIRs, Eris, Iser, SIer, Seri, eirs, ires, reis, rise

From German zieren.

sire

1. (archaic) adorn
2. (archaic, by extension, especially in the passive participle) endow with a favorable quality

• vansire

• “sire” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

From Old French sire (nominative form), from Vulgar Latin *seior (used as a term of address), a contracted form of Latin senior (compare French seigneur, derived from the accusative form), perhaps influenced by maior. Doublet of senior.

• IPA^(key): /siʁ/
• Rhymes: -iʁ
• Homophones: cire, cirent, cires, sires

sire m (plural sires)

1. (obsolete) sire (term of respect)
2. (obsolete) lord

• monsieur
• seigneur

• “sire” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• ries

Borrowed from Old French sire. See also sere. Doublet of signore.

sire m (invariable)

1. king, monarch

   only when addressing a sovereign

• re, sovrano, monarca, maestà

• IPA^(key): /ˈsi.rə/

sire m

1. nominative singular of sieur

sire

1. locative singular of siras