Sire (salutation)

Sire (French pronunciation: siʁ / English: saɪə ) is historically a title of French origin and an address for the heads of some of the oldest noble families , such as those of Joinville , Coucy or Crequi. Since the 16th century, the title Sire was reserved for the king.

In the High Middle Ages , it spread to other European countries, such as England, where the derived form of address " Sir " is still used today as the name of the knight ( Knight and Baronet ) and also as a general polite form of address.

Even today, Sire is intended in French as a salutation for an emperor or king , including former ones. The female counterpart is Madame . The corresponding salutation for princes and princesses is Monseigneur or Madame . As an alternative to addressing a ruler, majesté (dt .: majesty ) can be used.

The origin of the word Sire is based on an abbreviation of Monseigneur (German: My Lord).

literature

• Sire. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 16 : Sea life – speaking - (X, 1st section). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1905 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).

Web links

Wiktionary: Sire  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sire . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . 6th edition. Volume 18, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1909, p.  499 .