sire

[sahy^uhr]

noun

1. the male parent of a quadruped.

2. a respectful term of address, now used only to a male sovereign.

3. Archaic.

   1. a father or forefather.

   2. a person of importance or in a position of authority, as a lord.

verb (used with object)

sired, siring 

1. to beget; procreate as the father.

sire

/ saɪə /

noun

1. a male parent, esp of a horse or other domestic animal

2. a respectful term of address, now used only in addressing a male monarch

3. obsolete,  a man of high rank

verb

1. (tr) (esp of a domestic animal) to father; beget

Other Word Forms

• sireless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sire¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French (nominative singular) < Vulgar Latin *seior, for Latin senior senior (compare French monsieur originally, my lord, with sieur < *seiōr-, oblique stem of *seior )

Word History and Origins

Origin of sire¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin senior an elder, from senex an old man

Example Sentences

Not even the stuck-up sire in charge of the local fair wants her stink to rub off on the livestock.

Read more on Salon

How could any son not be shaken to the core after discovering that he not only killed his father but married his mother and sired his own siblings!

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Baffert’s influence can also be found in the breeding for this race with six having been sired by horses that Baffert has trained.

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He has sired five chicks and, alongside his partner is considered “the most dominant condor pair in the park,” according to the Oregon Zoo.

Read more on Seattle Times

Mouse pups sired by dysbiotic fathers showed significantly lower birth weights and an increased rate of postnatal mortality.

Read more on Science Daily