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sir
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
sir
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
dear
▪ The pity is that you married this lady, dear sir.
▪ My dear sir, we are Hoosiers, not Indianans.
▪ My dear sir, you must credit me with the wits of an orangutan.
▪ But, my dear sirs, when peace does come, you may call on me for anything.
▪ Think of that, dear sir.
▪ Have no fear, my dear sir.
right
▪ So she said OEAll right, sir.
▪ Do you have the right party, sir?
■ VERB
ask
▪ A thimbleful of water, sir? he asked the ant.
call
▪ Tess could not see his face, and could not understand why the head-dairyman himself should call him sir.
thank
▪ Oh, certainly. Thank you, sir.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
please Sir/Mrs Towers etc
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ "Are you on duty tonight, Corporal?" "Yes, sir."
▪ Dear Sir or Madam...
▪ Excuse me, sir. Is this your jacket?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Anagrams and word puzzles are not in my line of country, sir.
▪ It isn't all it sounds, sir, but they tell me it's a start.
▪ Not esquire, sir, lord or anything like that.
▪ The bodies are here, sir.
▪ Would you need to speak to him, sir?
▪ You needn't be jealous, sir.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Sir

Sir \Sir\, n. [OE. sire, F. sire, contr. from the nominative L. senior an elder, elderly person, compar. of senex,senis, an aged person; akin to Gr. ??? old, Skr. sana, Goth. sineigs old, sinista eldest, Ir. & Gael. sean old, W. hen. Cf. Seignior, Senate, Seneschal, Senior, Senor, Signor, Sire, Sirrah.]

  1. A man of social authority and dignity; a lord; a master; a gentleman; -- in this sense usually spelled sire. [Obs.]

    He was crowned lord and sire.
    --Gower.

    In the election of a sir so rare.
    --Shak.

  2. A title prefixed to the Christian name of a knight or a baronet.

    Sir Horace Vere, his brother, was the principal in the active part.
    --Bacon.

  3. An English rendering of the LAtin Dominus, the academical title of a bachelor of arts; -- formerly colloquially, and sometimes contemptuously, applied to the clergy.
    --Nares.

    Instead of a faithful and painful teacher, they hire a Sir John, which hath better skill in playing at tables, or in keeping of a garden, than in God's word.
    --Latimer.

  4. A respectful title, used in addressing a man, without being prefixed to his name; -- used especially in speaking to elders or superiors; sometimes, also, used in the way of emphatic formality. ``What's that to you, sir?''
    --Sheridan.

    Note: Anciently, this title, was often used when a person was addressed as a man holding a certain office, or following a certain business. ``Sir man of law.'' ``Sir parish priest.''
    --Chaucer.

    Sir reverance. See under Reverence, n.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
sir

c.1300, title of honor of a knight or baronet (until 17c. also a title of priests), variant of sire, originally used only in unstressed position. Generalized as a respectful form of address by mid-14c.; used as a salutation at the beginning of letters from early 15c.

Wiktionary
sir

n. 1 A man of a higher rank or position. 2 An address to a male military officer superior. 3 An address to any male, especially if his name or proper address is unknown. 4 (context colloquial English) (non-gloss definition Used as an intensifier after lang=en nodot=1) yes ''or'' no. vb. To address (someone) using "sir".

WordNet
sir
  1. n. term of address for a man

  2. a title used before the name of knight or baronet

Wikipedia
Sir (disambiguation)

Sir may refer to:

Sir (film)

Sir is a 1993 Bollywood film directed by Mahesh Bhatt starring debutant Atul Agnihotri and Pooja Bhatt in the lead roles with Naseeruddin Shah playing the title role. Paresh Rawal and Gulshan Grover play villainous roles. The film was remade in Telugu as Gangmaster with Rajasekhar.

It was inspired by the film Raaj Kumar starred in, Bulundi.

Sir

Sir is an honorific address used in a number of situations in many anglophone cultures. The term can be used as a formal prefix, especially in the Commonwealth, for males who have been given certain honors or titles (such as knights and baronets), where usage is strictly governed by law and custom.

The term is commonly used as a respectful way to address a man, usually of superior social status or military rank. Equivalent terms of address to females are "ma'am" or " madam" in most cases, or in the case of a young woman, girl, or unmarried woman who prefers to be addressed as such, "miss". The equivalent term for a knighted woman or baronetess is Dame, or "Lady" for the wife of a knight or baronet.

Usage examples of "sir".

CHAPTER XLIX LAETITIA AND SIR WILLOUGHBY We cannot be abettors of the tribes of imps whose revelry is in the frailties of our poor human constitution.

I suggest that I detail some of the men that came aboard from that privateer, sir?

The whole middle expanse of Asia was not academically conquered for Orientalism until, during the later eighteenth century, Anquetil-Duperron and Sir William Jones were able intelligibly to reveal the extraordinary riches of Avestan and Sanskrit.

Sir John Fenwick, Smith, and Cook, to say nothing of the corroborative evidence of Goodman, establish beyond doubt that you were accessorily, though perhaps not actively, guilty of high treason--at this period, I say, there can be little doubt that if you were brought to trial--that is, in the course of next week, as I have heard it rumoured--the result would be fatal, such, in short, as we should all deplore.

SIR,- I am commanded by my uncle to acquaint you, that as he did not proceed to those measures he had taken with you, without the greatest deliberation, and after the fullest evidence of your unworthiness, so will it be always out of your power to cause the least alteration in his resolution.

You are a stranger, sir, and may not be acquainted with our Spanish manners, consequently you are unaware of the great risk you run in going to see Nina every evening after the count has left her.

Sir Rosebury remained at Naples, and I found myself acquainted with all the English visitors.

Margland was a woman of family and fashion, but reduced, through the gaming and extravagance of her father, to such indigence, that, after sundry failures in higher attempts, she was compelled to acquiesce in the good offices of her friends, which placed her as a governess in the house of Sir Hugh.

In 1851 they were the persistent and acrimonious opponents of freedom, religious, political, and commercial, and by their eloquence stimulated those who sympathised with them, and incensed those who believed that a great economical victory had been accomplished by the free-trade legislation of Sir Robert Peel, which was irreversible.

In the commons Sir Robert Peel threw himself, acrimoniously, and with all his energy, into this controversy, and used all the exploded arguments of the protectionists with the air of one who for the first time urged them upon the house.

We will bring Sir Addis and Moira nothing but trouble, and the enmity of the Queen and Mortimer.

Though the ground was covered with snow, and the weather intensely cold, he travelled with such diligence, that the term prescribed by the proclamation was but one day elapsed when he reached the place, and addressed himself to sir John Campbell, sheriff of the county, who, in consideration of his disappointment at Fort-William, was prevailed upon to administer the oaths to him and his adherents.

He arrays skilfully the facts and reasonings which British inquirers have adduced in favor of Sir Philip Francis, and the other most probable author, Lord George Sackville.

More creditable to the cause was the adherence of men like Sir William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, a man of cool judgment and decent conversation.

In the meantime we may follow the unhappy fortunes of the small column which had, as already described, been sent out by Sir George White in order, if possible, to prevent the junction of the two Boer armies, and at the same time to threaten the right wing of the main force, which was advancing from the direction of Dundee, Sir George White throughout the campaign consistently displayed one quality which is a charming one in an individual, but may be dangerous in a commander.