senhor

See also: Senhor and senhôr

English

Etymology

From Portuguese senhor. Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senior, señor, signore, sir, and sire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɪˈnjɔː(ɹ)/

Noun

senhor (plural senhors or senhores)

1. A Portuguese gentleman.
2. Obsolete spelling of señor.
   • 1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 176:

     “Senhor,” said the Spaniard, “spare me; if your life was no dearer to you than mine, it would not be worth thanks.”

Anagrams

• Honers, herons, honers, hornes, horsen, nosher, rhones

Old Galician-Portuguese

Alternative forms

• senner
• senor
• sennor

Etymology

Inherited from Latin seniōrem, from senex (“old”), from Proto-Indo-European *sénos (“old”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seˈɲoɾ/

Noun

senhor m or f by sense

1. lord, lady
   • 13th century, João de Lobeira, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     
     Das que vejo
     nom desejo
     outra senhor se vós nom;
     e desejo
     tam sobejo
     mataria um leon,
     senhor do meu coraçom!
     Leonoreta,
     fin roseta,
     bela sobre toda fror,
     fin roseta,
     nom me meta
     em tal coita voss'amor!

     Out of the ones I see
     I do not wish
     another lady if not thee;
     and a such wish
     so abundant
     would kill a lion,
     lady of my heart!
     Leonoreta,
     fine little rose,
     more beautiful than every flower,
     fine little rose,
     do not lead me
     to such sorrow thy love!

   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 361 (facsimile):

     […] don afonſo de caſtela / aquel que […] ueçeu o ſenor dos mouros […]

     […] Don Alfonso of Castile, the one that […] defeated the lord of the Moors […]

   • 1198, Cancioneiro da Ajuda, Paio Soares de Taveirós, cantiga 38: No mundo non me sei parella (facsimile)

     […] mia ſennor branca e / uermella.

     […] my lady of white skin and / reddish face.

2. (Christianity) Lord, Lady
   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 128 (facsimile):

     Eſta e do corpo de n[oſtr]o ſennor / que un uilão metera en hũa / ſa colmẽa […]

     This one is (about) the body of our Lord, which a peasant placed in one of his beehives […]

   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 122 (facsimile):

     […] bẽeita tu / eſ mia ſennor que pariſte iheſu / xp̃o.

     […] you are blessed, my Lady, who bore Jesus Christ.

Descendants

• Galician: señor, señora
• Portuguese: senhor, senhora (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• Universo Cantigas - "senhor₁"
• Universo Cantigas - "senhor₂"

Old Occitan

Alternative forms

• segnor

Etymology

From Latin senior, seniōrem.

Noun

senhor m (oblique plural senhors, nominative singular senher, nominative plural senhor)

1. lord (a nobleman in medieval society)

Descendants

• Occitan: sénher, senhor, signour

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “senior”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 11: S–Si, page 448

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• Sr. (abbreviation)
• senhôr (obsolete)
• sinhô (Caipira eye-dialect)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese senhor m or f, from Latin seniōrem (“older”), comparative of senex (“old”), from Proto-Indo-European *sénos (“old”). Doublet of sénior. Compare Galician and Spanish señor.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /sẽˈɲoʁ/ [sẽˈj̃oh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /sẽˈɲoʁ/ [sẽˈj̃oh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /sẽˈɲoɾ/ [sẽˈj̃oɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /sẽˈɲoʁ/ [sẽˈj̃oχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /seˈɲoɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨˈɲoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨˈɲoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨˈɲo.ɾi/

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Hyphenation: se‧nhor

Noun

senhor m (plural senhores, feminine senhora, feminine plural senhoras)

1. mister (title conferred to an adult male)

   Dei o livro ao senhor João.

   I gave the book to mister John.

2. sir (address to any male)

   Não irei, senhor.

   I won’t go, sir.

3. (military) sir (address to a military superior)

   Sim, senhor!

   Yes sir!

4. an old man

   Synonyms: idoso, velho

   O cinema estava cheio de senhores.

   The film theatre was full of old men.

5. an unspecified male

   Synonyms: (slang, Brazil) cara, (slang, Portugal) gajo

   Um senhor está a sua procura.

   Some guy is looking for you.

6. (historical) feudal lord

   O senhor ordenou a construção de uma fossa.

   The lord ordered the construction of a moat.

7. master (owner of a slave)

   Synonyms: amo, dono

   Escravos devem obedecer seus senhores.

   Slaves must obey their masters.

8. (honorific) Sir (title given to a knight)

   Synonym: sir

Derived terms

• assenhorear, assenhorar
• o senhor
• Senhor

Related terms

• senhoragem
• senhorial
• senhoriato
• senhoril
• senhorilmente
• senhorio
• senhorismo
• senil
• sénior

 

Descendants

• Angolar: thun
• Guinea-Bissau Creole: sinhor, nhor
• Indo-Portuguese: sinhor
• Kabuverdianu: nho, nhu, sinhor
• Kristang: sinyor

  Indonesian: sinyo

• Macanese: nhom, nhum, sium
• Principense: sun
• Sãotomense: sun, Chinhô
• Tetum: señór
• → English: senhor
• → Malay: senyur

  Indonesian: senyur