What does the title "Sir" mean? And are the standards the same now as the year 1700?

Question

Also, can a title be purchased?

Answer 1

It is imply an honorific. A title to denote that the holder has done some great service. Originally it was a title bestowed to reward landowners for agreeing to provide men to fight for the king. This is still recognisable by the name of many British regiments. Nowadays it is conferred on anyone who is deemed to have performed a great service to the country. This might be political, business, sport, charity, the arts. Anything that is deemed to be of outstanding credit to the country.

Anybody can put forward the names of candidates to the appropriate government Dept who consider all suggestions.

Theoretically it cannot be bought although periodically there are stories of people who have donated money to a particular political party in exchange for a knighthood but this is illegal and the consequences would be political disgrace for anybody who tried it. It is a grey area though!



There are old meaningless titles that can be bought but a knighthood is not one.

Answer 2

The title "Sir," awarded to knights and baronets, ultimately derives from the Latin "senior," meaning older or elder, which evolved into "sire". In the Middle Ages, it came to mean an important older man and then acquired the sense of an important or distinguished man in general. It was then used to mark out both men given knighthoods and even to address the monarch. Eventually, for knights, the final "e" was dropped.



The standards for knighthood no longer involve military activity -- recruiting and leading men on behalf of the monarch or his representative. Today, a knighthood recognizes other forms of service to the nation or special accomplishment in one's field.



Knighthoods and peerage titles cannot legally be purchased.



Edit: Donating a lot of money would most likely be considered to fall under the heading "service to the nation". Moreover, there's never any absolute guarantee that a donation to a party will get you a knighthood. And I repeat, you can't call up some office and say, "I'd like to buy a knighthood. How much do they cost these days?"

Answer 3

Sir is an honorific placed before the name of a knight or baronet, which comes from the Middle English variant for "sire". Since 1964, no baronets have been bestowed with the single exception of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's husband, Sir Denis Thatcher. Theoretically, a knighthood can't be bought; however, in 2006, the Sunday Times revealed that every donor of over a million pounds to the Labour party had been knighted.

Answer 4

In Britain The title Sir is given to those who have been Knighted by the Queen.Much sought after.

Of course in the year 1700 there were real Knights,but they were still Knighted by the Soverign.

The sort of Sir I describe cant be purchased.

Answer 5

a knighthood most definitely cannot be purchased. And when it is, it is because of a corrupt government.



From over a thousand years ago to about 600 knighthoods were nearly always just meant for knights. The lowest of the gentry, often quite poor, who would bring maybe about 100 men-at-arms and archers to war when the King called upon them.



After this knighthoods were also given to people who had done service to the crown, like politicians. Now obviously a knighthood is given to people for outstanding achievement, and is the highest title anyone who isn't a politician really can get.

Answer 6

Well, let's be realistic! Sufficient donations to charity, to a political party (or preferably both) may well earn a knighthood.

Answer 7

You can BUY the title

But from what i understand they have no powers