c. 1200, title placed before a name and denoting knighthood, from Old French sire "lord (appellation), sire, my lord," from Vulgar Latin *seior, from Latin senior "older, elder," from PIE root *sen- "old." Standing alone and meaning "your majesty" it is attested from early 13c. General sense of "important elderly man" is from mid-14c.; that of "father, male parent" is from mid-13c.