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sire (sīr)
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n.
1. A biological father.
2.
a. The male parent of an animal, especially a domesticated mammal.
b. The plant or gamete responsible for fertilizing an ovule that develops into a seed.
3. Archaic A male ancestor; a forefather.
4. Archaic A gentleman of rank.
5. Archaic Used as a form of address for a superior, especially a king.
tr.v. sired, sir·ing, sires
1. To be the biological father of (a child).
2. To be the male individual or gamete producing (an animal's offspring or a plant's seed) through sexual reproduction: the boar that sired the litter; pollen grains siring seeds.
[Middle English, from Old French, master, lord, from Vulgar Latin *seior, alteration (influenced by Latin māior, greater, comparative of magnus, great) of Latin senior, older; see sen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots, comparative of senex, old; see sen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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