Where does “sirrah” come from?
Sirrah derives from Middle English sirrah, possibly from Middle English sire and the suffix -ah, which comes from Old French sire, from Latin senior, the comparative form of senex meaning old man.
sirrah (English): a term of address to an inferior male or more...
Definitions
- a term of address to an inferior male or more...
Ancestry of “sirrah”, step by step
sirrah traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Sir
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Sir | Alternative letter-case form of sir; The titular... |
| 2 | English | sire | A lord, master, or other person in authority,... |
| 3 | Middle English | sire | Used preceding the name or title of a knight,... |
| 4 | Old French | sire | nominative singular of sieur; master, sir, lord;... |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | seior | — |
| 6 | Latin | senior | older, elder; rather old; a lord, sir; an abbot |
| 7 | Latin | senex | old, aged, elderly; old person, old man, old... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sénos | old |
via Arabic سُرَّة
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arabic | سُرَّة | navel |