esquire


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es·quire

 (ĕs′kwīr′, ĭ-skwīr′)
n.
1. A man or boy who is a member of the gentry in England ranking directly below a knight.
2. Abbr. Esq. Used as an honorific usually in its abbreviated form, especially after the name of an attorney or a consular officer: Jane Doe, Esq.; John Doe, Esq.
3. Chiefly British A barrister-at-law.
4. In medieval times, a candidate for knighthood who served a knight as an attendant and a shield bearer.
5. Archaic An English country gentleman; a squire.

[Middle English esquier, from Old French escuier, from Late Latin scūtārius, shield bearer, from Latin scūtum, shield; see skei- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

esquire

(ɪˈskwaɪə)
n
1. chiefly Brit a title of respect, usually abbreviated Esq, placed after a man's name
2. (Historical Terms) (in medieval times) the attendant and shield bearer of a knight, subsequently often knighted himself
3. rare a male escort
[C15: from Old French escuier, from Late Latin scūtārius shield bearer, from Latin scūtum shield]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

es•quire

(ˈɛs kwaɪər, ɛˈskwaɪər)

n.
1. (cap.) a title of respect sometimes placed, esp. in its abbreviated form, after a man's surname in formal written address: in the U.S., chiefly applied to lawyers, women as well as men. Abbr.: Esq., Esqr.
3. a man belonging to the order of English gentry ranking next below a knight.
4. Archaic. squire (def. 1).
[1425–75; late Middle English esquier < Middle French escuier < Latin scūtārius shield bearer =scūt(um) shield + -ārius -ary]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

esquire

- At its root, it means "shield bearer (in service to a knight)," from Latin scutarius.
See also related terms for knight.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

esquire


Past participle: esquired
Gerund: esquiring

Imperative
esquire
esquire
Present
I esquire
you esquire
he/she/it esquires
we esquire
you esquire
they esquire
Preterite
I esquired
you esquired
he/she/it esquired
we esquired
you esquired
they esquired
Present Continuous
I am esquiring
you are esquiring
he/she/it is esquiring
we are esquiring
you are esquiring
they are esquiring
Present Perfect
I have esquired
you have esquired
he/she/it has esquired
we have esquired
you have esquired
they have esquired
Past Continuous
I was esquiring
you were esquiring
he/she/it was esquiring
we were esquiring
you were esquiring
they were esquiring
Past Perfect
I had esquired
you had esquired
he/she/it had esquired
we had esquired
you had esquired
they had esquired
Future
I will esquire
you will esquire
he/she/it will esquire
we will esquire
you will esquire
they will esquire
Future Perfect
I will have esquired
you will have esquired
he/she/it will have esquired
we will have esquired
you will have esquired
they will have esquired
Future Continuous
I will be esquiring
you will be esquiring
he/she/it will be esquiring
we will be esquiring
you will be esquiring
they will be esquiring
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been esquiring
you have been esquiring
he/she/it has been esquiring
we have been esquiring
you have been esquiring
they have been esquiring
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been esquiring
you will have been esquiring
he/she/it will have been esquiring
we will have been esquiring
you will have been esquiring
they will have been esquiring
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been esquiring
you had been esquiring
he/she/it had been esquiring
we had been esquiring
you had been esquiring
they had been esquiring
Conditional
I would esquire
you would esquire
he/she/it would esquire
we would esquire
you would esquire
they would esquire
Past Conditional
I would have esquired
you would have esquired
he/she/it would have esquired
we would have esquired
you would have esquired
they would have esquired
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.esquire - (Middle Ages) an attendant and shield bearer to a knightesquire - (Middle Ages) an attendant and shield bearer to a knight; a candidate for knighthood
England - a division of the United Kingdom
attendant, attender, tender - someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another
Dark Ages, Middle Ages - the period of history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance
2.Esquire - a title of respect for a member of the English gentry ranking just below a knight; placed after the name
Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
adult male, man - an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman); "there were two women and six men on the bus"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
esquire

esquire

[ɪsˈkwaɪəʳ] N (Brit) (on envelope) → Señor don
Colin Smith EsquireSr. D. Colin Smith
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Esquire

[ɪˈskwaɪər] n
J. Brown, Esquire → Monsieur J. Brown
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

esquire

n (abbr Esq) (Brit: on envelope) als Titel nach dem Namen, wenn kein anderer Titel angegeben wird James Jones, EsqHerrn James Jones
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

esquire

[ɪsˈkwaɪəʳ] n Colin Smith EsquireEgregio Signor Colin Smith
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
LORD NOBLEKIRK, } THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mintlaw), } DONALD DREW, Esquire (Advocate-Depute).} Counsel for the Crown.
And when he said it was Horatio Fizkin, Esquire, of Fizkin Lodge, near Eatanswill, the Fizkinites applauded, and the Slumkeyites groaned, so long, and so loudly, that both he and the seconder might have sung comic songs in lieu of speaking, without anybody's being a bit the wiser.
'The public dinner to our distinguished fellow-colonist and townsman, WILKINS MICAWBER, ESQUIRE, Port Middlebay District Magistrate, came off yesterday in the large room of the Hotel, which was crowded to suffocation.
In a word, he so talked him over, and with such persuasions and promises, that the poor clown made up his mind to sally forth with him and serve him as esquire. Don Quixote, among other things, told him he ought to be ready to go with him gladly, because any moment an adventure might occur that might win an island in the twinkling of an eye and leave him governor of it.
'Gowan, eh?' muttered Tip, otherwise Edward Dorrit, Esquire, turning over the leaves of the book, when the courier had left them to breakfast.
And now Veneering shoots out of the Study wherein he is accustomed, when contemplative, to give his mind to the carving and gilding of the Pilgrims going to Canterbury, in order to show Twemlow the little flourish he has prepared for the trumpets of fashion, describing how that on the seventeenth instant, at St James's Church, the Reverend Blank Blank, assisted by the Reverend Dash Dash, united in the bonds of matrimony, Alfred Lammle Esquire, of Sackville Street, Piccadilly, to Sophronia, only daughter of the late Horatio Akershem, Esquire, of Yorkshire.
That this state-room had been specially engaged for 'Charles Dickens, Esquire, and Lady,' was rendered sufficiently clear even to my scared intellect by a very small manuscript, announcing the fact, which was pinned on a very flat quilt, covering a very thin mattress, spread like a surgical plaster on a most inaccessible shelf.
Bois-Guilbert did the same; and his esquire remarked, as he clasped his visor, that his face, which had, notwithstanding the variety of emotions by which he had been agitated, continued during the whole morning of an ashy paleness, was now become suddenly very much flushed.
John Chester, Esquire, M.P., attended court--went up with an address--headed a deputation.
So the day came, as all other days come to people who will only stick to reason; and when it came, there were married in the church of the florid wooden legs - that popular order of architecture - Josiah Bounderby Esquire of Coketown, to Louisa eldest daughter of Thomas Gradgrind Esquire of Stone Lodge, M.P.
Rawdon Crawley, Esquire, gave vent to a prodigious whistle, in token of astonishment at this announcement.
"'Noel Vanstone, Esquire,' did you say?" asked the postmaster, keeping the letter in his own hand.