Sĭr, n.

(18), n. [O. Fr. sire, contracted from senre, from Lat. senior, an elder, elderly person, compar. of senex, senis, an aged person; Norm. Fr. sir, sire, lord; Pr. sire, sira, Sp. ser, sire, It. ser, sere, sire. See SIEUR and SEIGNIOR.]

1Sense 1. A man of social authority and dignity; a master; a gentleman;—applied as a title of deference or respect to any man of position, as is madam to a woman; also, in the plural, a general title by which a speaker addresses his hearers. “In the election of a sir so rare.” Shak.

Speak on, sir. Shak.

But, sirs, be sudden in the execution. Shak.

2Sense 2. A knight or baronet;—often applied as a prefix to the first or Christian name.

Sir Horace Vere, his brother, was the principal in the active part. Bacon.

3Sense 3. A priest or curate;—often used contemptuously of the more illiterate of the clergy. [Obs.]

☞ “A title formerly applied to priests and curates in general, for this reason: dominus, the academical title of a bachelor of arts, was usually rendered by sir, in English, at the universities; so that a bachelor, who, in the books, stood Dominus Brown, was, in conversation, called Sir Brown. . . . Therefore, as most clerical persons had taken that first degree, it became usual to style them sir.” Nares.

Instead of a faithful and painful teacher, they hire a Sir John, which hath better skill in playing at tables, or in keeping of a garden, than in God's word. Latimer.

4Sense 4. A master of arts in American colleges;—applied also to a bachelor of arts. [Obs.]