Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “sire” come from?

sire (Middle English) comes from Old French sire, from Vulgar Latin seior, from Latin senior, from Latin senex, from Proto-Indo-European sénos — old.

sire (Middle English): Used preceding the name or title of a knight,...

Definitions

  1. Used preceding the name or title of a knight,...

Ancestry of “sire”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchsirenominative singular of sieur; master, sir, lord;...
2Vulgar Latinseior—
3Latinseniorolder, elder; rather old; a lord, sir; an abbot
4Latinsenexold, aged, elderly; old person, old man, old...
5Proto-Indo-Europeansénosold

Words derived from “sire”

  • sure
  • Sir
  • sir
  • surely
  • sore
  • sewage
  • sire
  • sorely
  • unsure
  • sewer
  • ser
  • surly
  • searing
  • sewerage
  • sear
  • sere
  • grandsire
  • footsore
  • sureness
  • sirrah
  • cere
  • cocksure
  • surlily
  • surliness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sénos →