Talk:sir

Sir is only a noun?

What about the song 'To Sir with Love'? 62.128.42.30 08:50, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

In this context, "sir" is a pronoun.

Please explain why you think so. DCDuring TALK 16:02, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Persian

I belive "Sir" have no relation to what this article had mentioned" Sir" is coming from the word Sirdar a Persian/ Indian and also indo Iranian word meaning great commander and a VIP ,in Persian language "Sir" means "head" and "Dar " means the owner together it means very important person. this word still is in used in current Farsi and indo - ordo language.it is also the highest rank in Iranian military.sirdar also sardar.like sirdar- sardar Khomeini — This unsigned comment was added by Ajam20 (talk • contribs).. moved from entry page to here Thryduulf (talk) 16:57, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

I agree, the Persian has no relation to this article (by which I assume you mean sir#English). Mglovesfun (talk) 08:58, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

Is sir pejorative?

I think that in modern American usage, using "sir" sets a tone that is impersonal bordering on pejorative. Repeated calls of "Sir?" can be tantamount to a call for building security forces, and even a seemingly friendly communication like "Sir, can I help you" is often designed to make the recipient feel somewhat ill at ease. I think that in dramas one frequently sees emergency personnel try to set a friendly tone by first asking a person's name, even when this seems terribly inappropriate for a frenzied situation, simply to avoid using the S-word. Wnt 04:28, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

A dictionary cannot readily account for all of the connotations of words when they are highly varied. "Sir" is now often used in service operations to address male customers or clients and in other cases (official-citizen encounters) where the name of the customer-client is not reliably known by someone. As "sir" is often part of some protocol imposed on the officials or service personnel, tone of voice is the principle available means for them to express their own feelings. As those feelings seem to often be negative, the tone and non-verbal accompaniments may make the vocabulary of the protocols seem pejorative. From the service provider's perspective, "sir" may seem like a politically correct euphemism for "idiot", "ingrate", or worse. DCDuring TALK 11:35, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Is there a gender-neutral version of sir/ma'am?

I have been searching for a while now but I don't know where to look! --Lotte

I can't name one. Mglovesfun (talk) 09:08, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

RFV discussion: March–April 2019

The following information has failed Wiktionary's verification process (permalink).

Failure to be verified means that insufficient eligible citations of this usage have been found, and the entry therefore does not meet Wiktionary inclusion criteria at the present time. We have archived here the disputed information, the verification discussion, and any documentation gathered so far, pending further evidence.
Do not re-add this information to the article without also submitting proof that it meets Wiktionary's criteria for inclusion.

---

sir

"Used as an intensifier after yes or no. Sir, yes sir." I doubt this is distinct from the preceding sense of respect (which uses "sir, yes sir" as an example!). There may be a "sir, X, sir" pattern in the military but the word surely has the same meaning in both positions. Equinox ◑ 11:22, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

I don't think the definition is even a correct reading of the usage, which the subsense of the preceding definition does seem to have. We should seek out the author of the challenged definition. I think we could find a difference in stress pattern, but how would we even attest to the second sir being an intensifier as opposed to being part of yes + sir or yes sir? DCDuring (talk) 12:20, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

I agree this does not seem distinguishable from sense 2. Note that "ma'am yes ma'am" occurs, too: Citations:ma'am. - -sche (discuss) 15:42, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

Isn't this like the more common Yes, siree? Not particularly military, rather very informal and colloquial.  --Lambiam 17:15, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 20:27, 25 April 2019 (UTC)