Etymograph

English

sire

Sire comes from Old French sire, from Latin senex ‘old man, older man’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sénos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sénos1‘old’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*seneks1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsenex2‘old man, older man’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsenior2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sire2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sire2‘used preceding the name or title of a knight, noble, or cleric’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592sire2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin senex
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sire
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “He but a Duke, would haue his Sonne a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sénosWiktionary, Latin senex‘old’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*seneksWiktionary, Latin senexreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsenexWiktionary, English sire‘old man, older man’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEseniorWiktionary, English sire
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sireWiktionary, English sire
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sireWiktionary, English sire‘used preceding the name or title of a knight, noble, or cleric’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592sireWiktionary, English sire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “He but a Duke, would haue his Sonne a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *seneks

senatorial, senescent, 8 more

through Latin senex ‘old man, older man’

senate, senator, senile, monsignor, sene, signoria, signore, 10 more

through Latin senior

senior, seigneur, signora, 7 more

through Old French sire

sir

Today it means

noun 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sire”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin senex. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sénos / sire

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