ESQUIRE

Esquire, Esq

(noun) a title of respect for a member of the English gentry ranking just below a knight; placed after the name

esquire

(noun) (Middle Ages) an attendant and shield bearer to a knight; a candidate for knighthood

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Noun

esquire (plural esquires)

A lawyer.

A male member of the gentry ranking below a knight.

An honorific sometimes placed after a man's name.

A gentleman who attends or escorts a lady in public.

(archaic) A squire; a youth who in the hopes of becoming a knight attended upon a knight

(obsolete) A shield-bearer, but also applied to other attendants.

Usage notes

• In England this title is given to the eldest sons of knights, and the elder sons of the younger sons of peers and their eldest sons in succession, officers of the king's courts and of the household, barristers, justices of the peace while in commission, sheriffs, gentlemen who have held commissions in the army and navy, etc.: but opinions with regard to the correct usage vary. There are also esquires of knights of the Bath, each knight appointing three at his installation. The title now is usually conceded to all professional and literary men. In the United States the title is regarded as belonging especially to lawyers.

• In legal and other formal documents Esquire is usually written in full after the names of those considered entitled to the designation; in common usage it is abbreviated Esq. or Esqr, and appended to any man's name as a mere mark of respect, as in the addresses of letters (though this practice is becoming less prevalent than formerly). In the general sense, and as a title either alone or prefixed to a name, the form Squire has always been the more common in familiar use. - Century, 1914

• See also the Wikipedia article on "Esquire"

Verb

esquire (third-person singular simple present esquires, present participle esquiring, simple past and past participle esquired)

(transitive, obsolete) To attend, wait on, escort.

Etymology 2

Noun

esquire (plural esquires)

(heraldry) A bearing somewhat resembling a gyron, but extending across the field so that the point touches the opposite edge of the escutcheon.

Anagrams

• queries

Source: Wiktionary

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Es*quire", n. Etym: [OF. escuyer, escuier, properly, a shield-bearer, F. écuyer shield-bearer, armor-bearer, squire of a knight, esquire, equerry, rider, horseman, LL. scutarius shield-bearer, fr. L. scutum shield, akin to Gr. to cover; prob. akin to E. hide to cover. See Hide to cover, and cf. Equerry, Escutcheon.]

Definition: Originally, a shield-bearer or armor-bearer, an attendant on a knight; in modern times, a title of dignity next in degree below knight and above gentleman; also, a title of office and courtesy; -- often shortened to squire.

Note: In England, the title of esquire belongs by right of birth to the eldest sons of knights and their eldest sons in perpetual succession; to the eldest sons of younger sons of peers and their eldest sons in perpetual succession. It is also given to sheriffs, to justices of the peace while in commission, to those who bear special office in the royal household, to counselors at law, bachelors of divinity, law, or physic, and to others. In the United States the title is commonly given in courtesy to lawyers and justices of the peace, and is often used in the superscription of letters instead of Mr.

Es*quire", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Esquired; p. pr. & vb. n. Esquiring.]

Definition: To wait on as an esquire or attendant in public; to attend. [Colloq.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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