Sir
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2008-07-09T19:45:45Z
Red Thunder
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/163.150.26.159|163.150.26.159]] to last version by Icairns (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
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'''Sir''' is an [[honorific]] used as a title (see [[Knight]]) and in several other modern contexts.
It was once used (without the person's name) as a [[courtesy title]] among equals, but in common usage it is now usually reserved for one of superior [[Command hierarchy|rank]] or [[Social status|status]], such as an [[educator]] or [[commanding officer]], or in age (especially by a minor); as a form of address from a merchant to a customer; in formal correspondence (''Dear Sir'', ''Right Reverend Sir''); or to a stranger (''Sir, you've dropped your hat'').
The equivalent for a woman when used as a term of address is "[[madam]]" or "ma'am".
==Origin==
''Sir'' derives from the [[French language|Middle French]] honorific title ''sire'' (''messire'' gave 'mylord'), from the [[French language|Old French]] ''sieur'' (itself a contraction of ''Seigneur'' meaning 'lord'), from the [[Latin]] [[adjective]] ''senior'' (''elder''), which yielded titles of respect in many [[European languages]].
The form ''sir'' entered English in 1297, as title of honor of a [[knight]] or [[baronet]], being a variant of ''[[sire]]'', which was already used in English since c.1205 as a title placed before a name and denoting knighthood, and to address the (male) Sovereign since c.1225, with additional general senses of "father, male parent" is from c.1250 and "important elderly man" from 1362.
==Formal styling==
In formal protocol ''Sir'' is the correct [[Style (manner of address)|styling]] for a [[knight]] or a [[baronet]] (the [[United Kingdom|UK]] nobiliary rank just below all [[Peerage|Peers of the realm]]), used with (one of) the knight's [[given name]](s) or full name, but not with the [[Family name|surname]] alone ("Sir [[James Paul McCartney]]", "Sir [[Paul McCartney]]", or "Sir Paul", but never "Sir McCartney"). The equivalent for a woman is [[Dame (title)|Dame]] (for one who holds the title in her own right). The wife of a knight or baronet is however styled "[[Lady]] [Surname]" (e.g. "Lady McCartney", but never "Lady Heather McCartney", which is reserved for the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl).
In the case of a military officer who is also a knight, the appropriate form of address puts the professional military rank first, then the correct manner of address for the individual, then his or her name, e.g.,
* [[Admiral]] Sir [[Bruce Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape|Bruce Fraser]], [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]] (after 1941).<ref>Royal Navy Flag Officers, 1904-1945: [http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/fleet/fraserba.php Admiral of the Fleet Sir Bruce Fraser]</ref>
* [[General]] Sir [[Thomas Blamey]], [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]] (after 1941).<ref>Australian Dictionary of Biography: [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130231b.htm Field Marshall Sir Thomas Albert Blamey.]</ref>
With regard to British knighthood, a person who is not a citizen of a [[Commonwealth realm]] who receives an honorary knighthood is entitled to use any postnominal letters associated with the knighthood, but not the title "Sir". [[Multiple citizenship|Dual national]]s holding a Commonwealth citizenship that recognise the British [[monarch]] as head of state are entitled to use the styling, although common usage varies from country to country: for instance, dual [[Bahamas|Bahamian]]-American citizen [[Sidney Poitier]], knighted in 1974, is often styled "Sir Sidney Poitier", particularly in connection with his official [[ambassador]]ial duties, although he himself rarely employs the title.
==Use in disciplined services==
The common use of ''Sir'' instead of the rank specific address for a senior officer in a [[military]], [[police]] or other hierarchical organisation is rather specific to English. In most languages, no such general address is considered respectful, or the two are combined, as in German ''Herr'' followed by the rank. In French the possessive pronoun ''mon'' precedes the rank, not unlike [[Forms of Address in the United Kingdom#Peers and Peeresses|My Lord]] or [[Führer|Mein Führer]].
"Sir", on its own, is sometimes used by schoolchildren to address a male teacher. It is common in British [[tabloid|tabloid newspaper]] [[slang]] as a shorthand for 'schoolteacher': ''Sir's sex shame''. Usage of "sir" commonly appears in schools in portions of the [[Southern United States]].
When addressing a (male only, unlike in many fictional works) superior (e.g. Officer or [[Warrant Officer]], but--most of the time--not a [[non-commissioned officer]], in the military), "sir" is used to replace his specific rank. However, a [[United States Marine]] recruit addresses both commissioned and non-commissioned officers as "sir", especially [[drill instructors]]. Enlisted members of the [[United States Air Force]] always address superior non-commissioned officers--including Military Training Instructors--as "sir" and, in certain situations, even non-NCOs may be addressed as "sir", most often Senior Airmen (E-4s) serving as training leaders or instructors at technical schools.
Possibly the shortness of the word helps explain another, in a sense compensating, idiomatic but non-official practice in American English: emphatically saying Sir both in front and behind an obedient response in clear voice to the senior, especially during drill, e.g., "Sir, yes, sir!"
Often, youths playing [[American Football]] at the secondary school level and sometimes at the university level address their coaches as "sir." "Sir" is typically used when the players address the coach as a team, e.g., "Yes, sir!"
In both the [[United States Military]] and [[British Armed Forces]] addressing an [[Non-commissioned officer|NCO]] as "Sir" is incorrect, and the almost universal response to such an address is "Don't call me sir, I [[worker|work]] for a living". In the British Army, however, an NCO is referred to as "sir" when an officer is on parade and [[warrant officer]]s are addressed as "Sir".
In the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] only [[commissioned officers]] are addressed as "sir", NCOs and [[constables]] are addressed by their rank. [[British police]] officers of the rank of [[Inspector]] or above are formally addressed as "Sir", but are more commonly addressed as "Boss", "Gaffer" or "Guv" (short for "governor") depending on the force (although more senior officers are invariably addressed as "Sir").
==Miscellaneous==
*Until the 17th century it was also a title of priests (the related word [[monsignor]], from French ''monseigneur'' is still used for Catholic prelates). In [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], the cognate word ''séra'' is used exclusively to address a priest, together with his first name: a priest called Jón Jónsson will be addressed as ''séra Jón'' and referred to as ''presturinn séra Jón Jónsson'' ("the priest, ''séra'' Jón Jónsson").
*Various persons in authority, e.g. [[District Judge]]s in the United Kingdom, are also addressed as "sir".
*''Sirrah'' was a [[16th century]] derivative that implied the inferiority of the addressee.
*The informal forms ''sirree'' and ''siree'' are merely devised for emphasis in speech, mainly after Yes or No.
*Not to be confused with the now exclusively monarchical (i.e. royal) [[Sire]], even though this has the same etymological root.
==References==
* [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sir EtymologyOnLine]
{{Social titles}}
[[Category:Honorifics]]
[[Category:Men's social titles]]
[[Category:Knights| ]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:British knights| ]]
[[Category:Baronets| ]]
[[Category:British honours system]]
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