[Middle English segnour, from Old French seignor, from Vulgar Latin *senior, from Latin, older, comparative of senex, sen-, old; see sen- in Indo-European roots.] sei·gnio'ri·al adj.
"lord of a manor," c.1290 (implied in seignorie), from O.Fr. seignior, from L. seniorem (nom. senior) "older" (see senior). As a general title for a Frenchman, it dates from 1588.