sire
/saɪə(ɹ)/
sire noun: a lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when addressing a sovereign.
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Noun
sire (plural sires)
- A lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when addressing a sovereign.
- The Sultan (impatiently).—Confound this dadblasted collar-bolt! I wish it had— Izzet Aintit Wazzit Pasha (custodian of the imperial wardrobe).—Can I be of any assistance, Sire? The Sultan.—Well, you might get a can of oil and a monkey-wrench and help me off with this undershirt. It’s long past...1908 September 23, “In Turkey”, in A[rthur] H[amilton] Folwell, editor, Puck, volume LXIV, number 1647, New York, N.Y.: Keppler & Schwarzmann, →OCLC
- A male animal that has fathered a particular offspring (especially used of domestic animals and in biological research).
- A father; the head of a family; the husband.
- He but a Duke, would haue his Sonne a King, / And raiſe his iſſue like a louing Sire.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- Sometimes, also, he reproached himself, for abandoning those abodes where his father had dwelt. “Who knows,” said he to himself, “whether the shades of the departed are allowed to pursue, every where, the objects of their affection? Perhaps it is only permitted them to wander about the spot where...1807, [Germaine] de Staël Holstein, translated by D[ennis] Lawler, “[Book I. Oswald.] Chapter I.”, in Corinna; or, Italy. […], volume I, London: […] Corri, […]; and sold by Colburn, […], and...
- A creator; a maker; an author; an originator.
- Most musical of mourners, weep again! / Lament anew, Urania!—He died, / Who was the sire of an immortal strain, […]1821, Percy B[ysshe] Shelley, Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, […], Pisa, Italy: […] Didot; reprinted London: Noel Douglas […], 1927, →OCLC, stanza IV, page 8
- The vampire who turned another person.
- There is a toxin in a vampire’s fangs that will infect its victim when the sire drinks deeply and fully of their blood.2010, Michelle Rowen, Bitten & Smitten, page 24
- Ever since Antonio’s escape from his sire in 1942, he had never been tempted to return to the vampire fold.2011, Nancy Holder, The Damned, page 7
Verb
sire (third-person singular simple present sires, present participle siring, simple past and past participle sired)
- To father; to beget.
- In these travels, my father sired thirteen children in all, four boys and nine girls.1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 6
- To turn (another person) into a vampire.
- “Do you think they were wannabes, then? Groupies who found a willing vamp to sire them?”2008, Yasmine Galenorn, Darkling, page 34
- He wondered if she regretted siring him. Or marrying him.2009, Michelle Rowen, Stakes & Stilettos, page 53
sire meaning in Tamil, Kannada, Malay and Indonesian
sire in Tamil
- பொலி விலங்கு, விலங்கின் தந்தை, பிதா, பெரியோரைக் அழைக்கும் விளிக்குறிப்பு
sire in Kannada
- ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸುಗ, ತಂದೆ, ಅಜ್ಜ
sire in Malay
- male animal
- induk jantan
sire in Indonesian
- male animal
- pejantan, pemacek
Examples of sire in a sentence
- I wish it had— Izzet Aintit Wazzit Pasha (custodian of the imperial wardrobe).—Can I be of any assistance, Sire?1908 September 23, “In Turkey”, in A[rthur] H[amilton] Folwell, editor, Puck, volume LXIV, number 1647, New York, N.Y.: Keppler &...
- Perhaps in this moment does the spirit of my sire regret the absence of his son, while distance prevents my hearing his voice, exerted to recall me.[”]1807, [Germaine] de Staël Holstein, translated by D[ennis] Lawler, “[Book I. Oswald.] Chapter I.”, in Corinna; or, Italy. […], volume I...
- I'd never sired another vampire before and I was at a loss of what to do with the rats.2014, J. C. Diem, Death Conquers, page 33:
Synonyms of sire
Forms of sire
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | sires |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | sires |
| present participle | siring |
| past participle | sired |
| past | sired |
Origin of sire
From Middle English sire, from Old French sire, the nominative singular of seignor; from Latin senior, from senex. Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senhor, senior, señor, senyor, signore, and sir. Cognate with French monsieur.
Words formed from sire
Words that rhyme with sire
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- choir
- desire
- esquire
- inspire
- tire
- acquire
- admire
- dire
- empire
- respire
- transpire
- trier
- dryer
- friar
- fryer
- gyre
- lyre
- mire
- misfire
- require
- underfire
- aspire
- bemire
- buyer
- conspire
- inquire
- overfire
- perspire
- quire
- tyre
- attire
- briar
- crier
- higher
- lier
- overtire
- Pryor
- pyre
- re-retire
- retrochoir
- rewire
- supplier
- suspire
- underwire
- unretire
- afire
- byre
- drier
Questions about sire
- What does sire mean?
- Sire means a lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when addressing a sovereign.
- What is sire in Tamil?
- Sire in Tamil is பொலி விலங்கு, விலங்கின் தந்தை, பிதா. See Sire meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use sire in a sentence?
- I wish it had— Izzet Aintit Wazzit Pasha (custodian of the imperial wardrobe).—Can I be of any assistance, Sire?
- What part of speech is sire?
- Sire can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce sire?
- Sire is pronounced /saɪə(ɹ)/.
- What is the plural of sire?
- The plural of sire is sires.
Words near sire in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sire (page history and authors); sire (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sire (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-AcpoKrane-sire.wav.
Cite this entry: “sire.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sire. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.