What was the original meaning of honoring certain Brits with the title of Sir or Dame? Has it been cheapened now that so many celebrities are given it?
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ANSWERS: 1
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Sir is from Signeur, a title for the lowest nobility. Monsieur in French means "my liege-lord" literally, as does signore in Italian. Dame is the female form of lady of the manor. I do not know if it has been cheapened. In the past, it was often for sale to the highest bidder. That is how so many families sit in the house of Lords now, not because of noble blood. Their ancestors were merchants in Elizabethan times.Much of the ancient Norman nobility of England had died out by that time in the main lines..a lot of titles were vacant.
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