Originally, a shield-bearer or armor-bearer, an attendant on a knight; in modern times, a title of dignity next in degree below knight and above gentleman; also, a title of office and courtesy; -- often shortened to squire.
To wait on as an esquire or attendant in public; to attend.
Title conferring no rights or privileges but simply an intangible sort of dignity and theoretically membership in the landed gentry of one who had no other title.
In the United States the title commonly appended after the name of an attorney. In English law a title of dignity next above gentleman and below knight. Title also given to barristers at law and others. Abbreviated: Esq.
1)A member of the English gentry who ranks just below a knight, 2)A candidate for knighthood who serves as an attendant to a knight, and carries his arms, 3)Someone who holds an office from the crown such as a Justice of the Peace, a sheriff, or a judge, 4)An attorney who has graduated from law school and passed the bar.(modern use), 5)Landed proprietor, or landed gentry, 6)When a son is named after his father, he is called I, II, III, etc. When the first born mail heir of that lineage is given a different name, he is given the title "esquire".
A title of courtesy, placed after a man's name. Abbreviated to Esq. When this appears in Almanacs, Parish Registers, and newspapers prior to about 1840 it is usually used of landed proprietors or gentry, or persons of high social standing. There it is distinguished from those referred to as "Mr.". See Mister. By 1865 the Almanac stated that all persons appearing in the Almanac were entitled to the title of Esquire in Jamaica.
(Middle Ages) an attendant and shield bearer to a knight; a candidate for knighthood
a title of respect for a member of the English gentry ranking just below a knight; placed after the name
a shield-bearer for and between the king/queen and any other with whom the king/queen wishes to engage in battle
(1) In England a title of dignity next above gentleman and below knight. The title of office given to sheriffs, serjeants [sergeants], lawyers and justices of the peace. (2) In the USA a title appended after the name in addressing letters, is bestowed on any person at pleasure, and contains no definite description. It is merely an expression of respect.
A title sometimes appended to the end of a lawyer's name.
n. a form of address showing that someone is an attorney, usually written Albert Pettifog, Esquire, or simply Esq. Originally in England an Esquire was a rank just above "gentleman" and below "knight." It became a title for barristers, sheriffs and judges.
1) a candidate for knighthood, from esquier, akin to Fr. ecuyer and It. scudiero. 2) in Great Britain, a member of the gentry ranking below a knight; squire. 3) in some English-speaking countries, title of courtesy placed after a man's name. 4) an armigerous gentleman.
In the United States, the title commonly following an attorney's name. Historically, a title of dignity next above gentleman but below a knight. Abbreviated as Esq.