Sir

10 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sir \Sir\, n. [OE. sire, F. sire, contr. from the nominative L.
     senior an elder, elderly person, compar. of senex,senis, an
     aged person; akin to Gr. ??? old, Skr. sana, Goth. sineigs
     old, sinista eldest, Ir. & Gael. sean old, W. hen. Cf.
     {Seignior}, {Senate}, {Seneschal}, {Senior}, {Senor},
     {Signor}, {Sire}, {Sirrah}.]


     1. A man of social authority and dignity; a lord; a master; a
        gentleman; -- in this sense usually spelled sire. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He was crowned lord and sire.         --Gower.
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              In the election of a sir so rare.     --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A title prefixed to the Christian name of a knight or a
        baronet.
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              Sir Horace Vere, his brother, was the principal in
              the active part.                      --Bacon.
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     3. An English rendering of the LAtin Dominus, the academical
        title of a bachelor of arts; -- formerly colloquially, and
        sometimes contemptuously, applied to the clergy. --Nares.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A respectful title, used in addressing a man, without
        being prefixed to his name; -- used especially in speaking
        to elders or superiors; sometimes, also, used in the way
        of emphatic formality. "What's that to you, sir?"
        --Sheridan.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Anciently, this title, was often used when a person was
           addressed as a man holding a certain office, or
           following a certain business. "Sir man of law." "Sir
           parish priest." --Chaucer.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Sir reverance}. See under {Reverence}, n.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  sir
       n 1: term of address for a man
       2: a title used before the name of knight or baronet

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SIR
       Save Instruction Recognition
       
       

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SIR
       Serial InfraRed (HP)
       
       

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SIR
       Selective Information Retrieval
       
       

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SIR
       Sicherheit im Rechenzentrum (TPS)
       
       

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SIR
       Statistical Information Retrieval
       
       

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  SIR
       Sustained Information Rate (SMDS)
       
       

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  SIR
       
          1.  An early system on the {IBM 650}.
       
          [Listed in CACM 2(5):16, May 1959].
       
          2.  Serial Infrared.  An {infrared} {standard} from
          {IrDA}, part of {IrDA Data}.  SIR supports {asynchronous}
          communications at 9600 bps - 115.2 Kbps, at a distance of up
          to 1 metre.
       
          [Reference?]
       
          (1999-10-14)
       
       

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  SIRE. A title of honor given to kings or emperors in speaking or writing to 
  them.