Word of the Day: Sire

sire

sire / sīr

noun

1. a father; a biological male parent

I had rather aske of my sire browne bread, then borrow of my neighbour white.

George Herbert, 1593 – 1633

2. the male parent of an animal, especially used of a horse or other domesticated animal

Every foal is not like its sire.

Danish Proverb

3. creator or founder

Toil, says the proverb, is the sire of fame.

Euripides, c. 480 BC – 406 BC

4. (archaic) a male ancestor; a forefather

If your descent is from heroic sires, show in your life a remnant of their fires.

Nicholas Boileau, 1636 – 1711

5. (archaic) a term of address or a title for a man of authority, particularly a king

Sire, there is no royal road to geometry.

Euclid, 435 BC – 365 BC

6. (archaic) a man of high rank or in a position of authority

Here , the venerable sires and matrons of the congregation met before the hour for service , or during the intermission at noon , and talked over the exciting events of the Revolution, and expressed their kind interest in the welfare of those of their brethren and neighbours, who were then fighting for our independence, under the illustrious Washington.

From “Churches of the Valley, Or, An Historical Sketch of the Old Presbyterian Congregations of Cumberland and Franklin Counties, in Pennsylvania” by Alfred Nevin, 1816 – 1890

verb

1. of a biological male parent, to produce offspring; to father; to beget

Arguably the greatest race horse ever, Secretariat sired more than 660 offspring before he was euthanized at 19 years old.

Alexis Cubit, “8 Secretariat descendants are in 2023 Kentucky Derby field: Odds, what to know about each”, ‘Courier Journal’, www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/horses/kentucky-derby/2023/04/27/secretariat-descendants-2023-kentucky-derby-field-at-churchill-downs/69992169007, April 27, 2023