sire
[ sahyuhr ]
/ saɪər /
Save This Word!
noun
the male parent of a quadruped.
a respectful term of address, now used only to a male sovereign.
Archaic.
- a father or forefather.
- a person of importance or in a position of authority, as a lord.
verb (used with object), sired, sir·ing.
to beget; procreate as the father.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of sire
1175–1225; Middle English <Old French (nominative singular) <Vulgar Latin *seior, for Latin seniorsenior (compare French monsieur originally, my lord, with sieur<*seiōr-, oblique stem of *seior)
OTHER WORDS FROM sire
sireless, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use sire in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for sire
sire
/ (saɪə) /
noun
a male parent, esp of a horse or other domestic animal
a respectful term of address, now used only in addressing a male monarch
obsolete a man of high rank
verb
(tr) (esp of a domestic animal) to father; beget
Word Origin for sire
C13: from Old French, from Latin senior an elder, from senex an old man
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012