esquire
[es-kwahyuh r, e-skwahyuh r]
- (initial capital letter) an unofficial title of respect, having no precise significance, sometimes placed, especially in its abbreviated form, after a man's surname in formal written address: in the U.S., usually applied to lawyers, women as well as men; in Britain, applied to a commoner considered to have gained the social position of a gentleman. Abbreviation: Esq.
- squire(def 2).
- a man belonging to the order of English gentry ranking next below a knight.
- Archaic. squire(def 1).
Show More
- to raise to the rank of esquire.
- to address as “Esquire.”
- to escort or attend in public.
Show More
Origin of esquire
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for esquire
Contemporary Examples
“[I]ndeed, the Civil War was more or less administered from there,” an Esquire review asserts.
Over the years, Crawford has been largely silent, speaking out only for an as-told-to obituary to Houston published in Esquire.
“It really sucks to be in your younger twenties,” Colfer told Esquire.
Chris Colfer on Writing, Acting, and the Pain of Being A Pop Culture TrailblazerOliver Jones
December 15, 2014
He wrote about their time together for the April 1982 issue of Esquire (and the piece appears here with the author's permission).
This gives Nagrani greater satisfaction than to have Esquire last year crown his socks “the best in the world”.
Historical Examples
If the Esquire were to be snipped once and for ever from the tail of my name I should be the lighter for it.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
We have just returned this morning from visiting Mrs. Esquire Lee.
Journal of a Young Lady of Virginia, 1782Lucinda Lee Orr
Esquire does not mean squire, and esq. does not mean anything.
A Short History of EnglandG. K. Chesterton
Then would follow two or three local worthies with Esquire after their names.
Elsie VennerOliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
They had now reached a stone wall which fronted the estate of Esquire Duncan.
Jessie CarltonFrancis Forrester
esquire
- mainly British a title of respect, usually abbreviated Esq, placed after a man's name
- (in medieval times) the attendant and shield bearer of a knight, subsequently often knighted himself
- rare a male escort
Show More
Word Origin
C15: from Old French escuier, from Late Latin scūtārius shield bearer, from Latin scūtum shield
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 esquire
n.
late 14c., from Middle French esquier "squire," literally "shield-bearer" (for a knight), from Old French escuyer, from Vulgar Latin scutarius "shield-bearer, guardsman" (in classical Latin, "shield-maker"), from scutum "shield" (see hide (n.1)).
For initial e-, see especial. Cf. squire. Originally the feudal rank below knight, sense broadened 16c. to a general title of courtesy or respect for the educated class, especially, later, in U.S., for lawyers.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper