beauieu

Updated: June 13, 2025

And whether Sire be or be not a like contraction of Signior, it is clear that, as it was borne by sundry of the ancient feudal lords of France, who, as Selden says, "affected rather to bee stiled by the name of Sire than Baron, as Le Sire de Montmorencie, Le Sire de Beauieu, and the like," and as it has been commonly used to monarchs, our word Sir, which is derived from it, originally meant lord or king.

Herbert Spencer - Essays on Education and Kindred Subjects: Everyman's Library