equerry

[ek-wuh-ree, ih-kwer-ee]

See more synonyms for equerry on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural eq·uer·ries.

an officer of a royal or similar household, charged with the care of the horses.
an officer of the British royal household who attends the sovereign or other member of the royal family.

Origin of equerry

1520–30; alteration (influenced by Latin equus horse) of earlier esquiry, escuirie < Middle French escuirie stable, squires collectively, derivative of escuyer squire; see -y³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for equerry

servant, youth, attendant, bellhop, equerry, jockey, equestrian, cowboy, postilion, gaucho, broncobuster, roughrider, cavalryman, dragoon, buckaroo, squire, dresser, manservant, hostler

Examples from the Web for equerry

Historical Examples of equerry

Here, then, we found the equerry again, consumed by anxiety.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini
The chamberlains and the equerry have departed with their letters of announcement.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 2, August, 1863
Various
Take Martin, the equerry, with you, and three of the grooms.
Graham's Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 1 July 1848
Various
Holding his captive before him, Damis turned to the equerry.
Giants on the Earth
Sterner St. Paul Meek
He ordered his equerry to offer them his protection, and everything that they might require.
The Frog Prince and Other Stories
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for equerry

equerry

noun plural -ries

an officer attendant upon the British sovereign
(formerly) an officer in a royal household responsible for the horses

Word Origin for equerry

C16: alteration (through influence of Latin equus horse) of earlier escuirie, from Old French: stable, group of squires, from escuyer squire

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for equerry

1590s, short for groom of the equirrie, from esquiry "stables" (1550s), from Middle French escuerie (Modern French écurie), perhaps from Medieval Latin scuria "stable," from Old High German scura "barn;" or from Old French escuier "groom," from Vulgar Latin scutarius "shield-bearer." In either case, spelling influenced by Latin equus "horse," which is unrelated.