The term is often reserved for use only towards equals, one of superior rank or status, such as an educator or commanding officer, an elder (especially by a minor), or as a form of address from a merchant to a customer.
Equivalent terms of address are "ma'am" or "madam" in most cases, or in the case of a very young woman, girl, or unmarried woman who prefers to be addressed as such, "miss". The equivalent term for a knighted woman is Dame, or "Lady" for the wife of a knight.
In the UK and in certain Commonwealth realms (where the British monarch directly reigns), the following honours permit (in the case of three currently dormant honours, permitted) male subjects of those realms to use the prefix Sir :
Established in 1783 and primarily awarded to men associated with the Kingdom of Ireland. Regular creation of new knights of the order ended in 1921 upon the formation of the Irish Free State. With the death of the last knight in 1974, the Order became dormant.
As part of the British Empire's consolidation of their rule in India, the Order of the Star of India was established in 1861 to reward prominent British and Indian civil servants and military officers and prominent Indians associated with the Indian Empire. The Order of the Indian Empire was established in 1878 as a junior-level order to accompany the Order of the Star of India. The last creations of knights of either order were made on 15 August 1947 upon Indian independence. Both orders, and the use of their formal styling, became officially obsolete in India in 1950 upon the country becoming a republic within the Commonwealth, followed by Pakistan in 1956. The Order of the Star of India became dormant in the Commonwealth realms from February 2009, and the Order of the Indian Empire after August 2010, when the last knights of the orders died.
This is also the case with academic titles such as professor:
However, the title 'Doctor' is not used in combination with 'Sir': the knighthood takes precedence, and knighted doctors are addressed as knights, though they may still use any postnominal letters associated with their degrees.
With regard to British knighthood, a person who is not a citizen of a Commonwealth realm who receives an honorary knighthood is entitled to use any postnominal letters associated with the knighthood, but not the title "Sir". A similar convention applies to Church of England clergy who receive knighthoods, for example:
Clergy in other denominations may use different conventions.
Dual nationals holding a Commonwealth citizenship that recognise the British monarch as head of state are entitled to use the styling. Common usage varies from country to country: for instance, dual Bahamian-American citizen Sidney Poitier, knighted in 1974, is often styled "Sir Sidney Poitier", particularly in connection with his official ambassadorial duties, although he himself rarely employs the title.
Especially in North America, the style "Sir" is frequently employed by knights of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (female members of that order are styled Lady).
It is common in British tabloid newspaper slang as a shorthand for 'schoolteacher': Sir's sex shame. Usage of "sir" commonly appears in schools in portions of the Southern United States.
When addressing a male superior (e.g. Officer or Warrant Officer, but not usually a non-commissioned officer, in the military), "sir" is used to replace his specific rank. (Despite its use in many fictional works, this is not a term used for female superiors, who are addressed as " ma'am"). However, recruits of the United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard address both male commissioned and non-commissioned officers as "sir" in basic training, especially drill instructors (USMC) and company commanders (USCG). Enlisted members of the United States Military always address Commissioned Officers as "sir." During training "sir" is implied and will be replaced by the rank and grade of those addressed after initial indoctrination.
Possibly the shortness of the word helps explain another idiomatic but non-official practice in American English: emphatically saying Sir both before and after an obedient response to the senior, especially during drill, e.g., "Sir, yes, sir!" This is practiced by the US Coast Guard recruits. In both the United States Army and British Armed Forces, addressing an NCO as "Sir" is incorrect. In the British Army, however, an NCO is referred to as "sir" when he is on parade and warrant officers are addressed as "Sir."
In the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, only commissioned officers are addressed as "sir"; NCOs and constables are addressed by their rank. British police officers of the rank of Inspector or above are addressed as "Sir," the more familiar form of address as "Boss", "Gaffer" or "Guv" (short for "governor") being largely inventions of popular TV and cinema.
Category:Honorifics Category:Men's social titles Category:Noble titles Category:British honours system
ar:سير (لقب) be:Сэр bg:Сър/дейм ca:Sir (títol) cs:Sir et:Sir es:Sir eo:Siro fa:سر (لقب) gl:Sir hr:Sir (titula) id:Sir it:Cavalierato he:סר nl:Sir (titel) ja:ナイト no:Sir pl:Sir pt:Sir ru:Сэр simple:Sir sk:Sir sl:Sir (naziv) sr:Сер (титула) fi:Sir sv:Sir ta:சர் te:సర్ uk:Сер (титул) zh:爵士This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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