ESQUIRE

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French esquier squire, from Late Latin scutarius, from Latin scutum shield; akin to Old Irish sciath shield Date: 15th century a member of the English gentry ranking below a knight, a candidate for knighthood serving as shield bearer and attendant to a knight, 3. — used as a title of courtesy usually placed in its abbreviated form after the surname a landed proprietor