Did saying yes ma'am and yes sir originate with slavery?

Answer 1

NO! It did not start with slavery! This has been n every European country lanuage for 800 years or more.

Sir is an honorific address used as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given name or family name in many English speaking cultures. It is often used in formal correspondence (Dear Sir, Right Reverend Sir).

The term is often reserved for use only towards one of superior rank or status, such as an educator, or as a form of address from a merchant to a customer.

Equivalent terms of address are "ma'am" or "madam" in most cases, or in the case of a very young woman, girl, or unmarried woman who prefers to be addressed as such, "miss". The equivalent term for a knighted woman is Dame, or "Lady" for the wife of a knight.

Sir derives from the Middle French honorific title sire (messire gave rise to mylord), from the Old French sieur (itself a contraction of Seigneurmeaning 'lord'), from the Latin adjective senior(elder), which yielded titles of respect in many European languages. The form sir is first documented in English in 1297, as title of honor of a knight or baronet, being a variant of sire, which was already used in English since at least c.1205 as a title placed before a name and denoting knighthood, and to address the (male) Sovereign since c.1225, with additional general senses of "father, male parent" is from c.1250 and "important elderly man" from 1362.