Sire is a form of address for reigning kings in the United Kingdom and in Belgium. It was formerly also used in France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Spain. Historically Sire had a wider usage. During the middle ages Sire was generally used to address a superior, a person of importance or in a position of authority or the nobility in general. The word "sire" and the French "(mon)sieur" share a common etymologic origin, both ultimately being related to the Latin senior.
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Famous quotes containing the word sire:
“Sweet fire the sire of muse, my soul needs this;
I want the one rapture of an inspiration.
O then if in my lagging lines you miss”
—Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
“The sire then shook the honors of his head,
And from his brows damps of oblivion shed
Full on the filial dullness:”
—John Dryden (1631–1700)
“There a captive sat in chains
Crooning ditties treasured well
From his Afric’s torrid plains.
Sole estate his sire bequeathed,—
Hapless sire to hapless son,—
Was the wailing song he breathed,
And his chain when life was done.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)