ESQUIRE


Meaning of ESQUIRE in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈes-ˌkwī(-ə)r, is-ˈ ]

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

1. : a member of the English gentry ranking below a knight

2. : 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

John R. Smith, Esq.

4. archaic : a landed proprietor

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.