Odie started calling me ‘sirrah’ on the train the other day. We figured it was the predecessor of ‘sir,’ which turned out to be true. But ‘sirrah’ holds a different connotation, according to dictionary.com:

–noun Archaic.
a term of address used to inferiors or children to express impatience, contempt, etc.

Origin: 1520–30; extended form of sir; source of final vowel is unclear