esquire

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: es=quire

CIDE DICTIONARY

esquire, n. [OF. escuyer, escuier, properly, a shield-bearer, F. écuyer shield-bearer, armor-bearer, squire of a knight, esquire, equerry, rider, horseman, LL. scutarius shield-bearer, fr. L. scutum shield, akin to Gr. skin, hide, from a root meaning to cover; prob. akin to E. hide to cover. See Hide to cover, and cf. Equerry, Escutcheon.].

 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.  [1913 Webster]
" In England, the title of esquire belongs by right of birth to the eldest sons of knights and their eldest sons in perpetual succession; to the eldest sons of younger sons of peers and their eldest sons in perpetual succession. It is also given to sheriffs, to justices of the peace while in commission, to those who bear special office in the royal household, to counselors at law, bachelors of divinity, law, or physic, and to others. In the United States the title is commonly given in courtesy to lawyers and justices of the peace, and is often used in the superscription of letters instead of Mr."  [1913 Webster]

esquire, v. t. 

 To wait on as an esquire or attendant in public; to attend.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

esquire, n.
1 (usu. as abbr. Esq.) Brit. a title appended to a man's surname when no other form of address is used, esp. as a form of address for letters.
2 archaic = SQUIRE.

Etymology

ME f. OF esquier f. L scutarius shield-bearer f. scutum shield

THESAURUS

esquire

Brahman, Casanova, Don Juan, Lothario, Romeo, amoroso, archduke, aristocrat, armiger, baron, baronet, beau, blue blood, bodyguard, boyfriend, caballero, cavalier, cavaliere servente, chaperon, companion, conductor, convoy, count, daimio, duenna, duke, earl, escort, fellow, fellow traveler, flame, gallant, gentleman, gigolo, grand duke, grandee, guard, hidalgo, inamorato, lace-curtain, lady-killer, laird, landgrave, lord, lordling, love-maker, magnate, magnifico, man, margrave, marquis, necker, noble, nobleman, old man, optimate, palsgrave, patrician, peer, petter, philanderer, safe-conduct, seducer, seigneur, seignior, sheik, shepherd, silk-stocking, squire, sugar daddy, swain, swell, thoroughbred, upper-cruster, usher, viscount, waldgrave, young man

ROGET THESAURUS

esquire

Lawyer

N lawyer, attorney, legal counsel, counsel, counsellor, counsellor at law, attorney at law, jurist, legist, civilian, pundit, publicist, juris consult, legal adviser, advocate, barrister, barrister at law, King's or Queen's counsel, K, C, Q, C, silk gown, leader, sergeant-at-law, bencher, tubman, judge, bar, legal profession, bar association, association of trial lawyers, officer of the court, gentleman of the long robe, junior bar, outer bar, inner bar, equity draftsman, conveyancer, pleader, special pleader, solicitor, proctor, notary, notary public, scrivener, cursitor, writer, writer to the signet, S, S, C, limb of the law, pettifogger, vakil, legal beagle, legal secretary, legal assistant, law student, learned in the law, at the bar, forensic, esquire, esquired, banco regis.

Nobility

N nobility, rank, condition, distinction, optimacy, blood, pur sang, birth, high descent, order, quality, gentility, blue blood of Castile, ancien regime, high life, haute monde, upper classes, upper ten thousand, the four hundred, elite, aristocracy, great folks, fashionable world, peer, peerage, house of lords, house of peers, lords, lords temporal and spiritual, noblesse, noble, nobleman, lord, lordling, grandee, magnifico, hidalgo, daimio, daimyo, samurai, shizoku, don, donship, aristocrat, swell, three- tailed bashaw, gentleman, squire, squireen, patrician, laureate, gentry, gentlefolk, squirarchy, better sort magnates, primates, optimates, pantisocracy, king, atheling, prince, duke, marquis, marquisate, earl, viscount, baron, thane, banneret, baronet, baronetcy, knight, knighthood, count, armiger, laird, signior, seignior, esquire, boyar, margrave, vavasour, emir, ameer, scherif, sharif, effendi, wali, sahib, chevalier, maharaja, nawab, palsgrave, pasha, rajah, waldgrave, princess, begum, duchess, marchioness, countess, lady, dame, memsahib, Do$a, maharani, rani, personage of distinction, man of distinction, personage of rank, man of rank, personage of mark, man of mark, notables, notabilities, celebrity, bigwig, magnate, great man, star, superstar, big bug, big gun, great gun, gilded rooster, magni nominis umbra, every inch a king, noble, exalted, of rank, princely, titled, patrician, aristocratic, high-, well-born, of gentle blood, genteel, comme il faut, gentlemanlike, courtly, highly respectable, in high quarters, Adel sitzt im Gemuthe nicht im Gebluete, adelig und edel sind zweierlei, noblesse oblige.

Title

N title, honor, knighthood, highness, excellency, grace, lordship, worship, reverence, reverend, esquire, sir, master, Mr, signor, senor, Mein Herr, mynheer, your honor, his honor, serene highness, handle to one's name, decoration, laurel, palm, wreath, garland, bays, medal, ribbon, riband, blue ribbon, cordon, cross, crown, coronet, star, garter, feather, feather in one's cap, epaulet, epaulette, colors, cockade, livery, order, arms, shield, scutcheon, reward.

Sexuality

N sex, sexuality, gender, male, masculinity, maleness, female, femininity, sexual intercourse, copulation, mating, coitus, sex, lovemaking, marital relations, sexual union, sleeping together, carnal knowledge, sex instinct, sex drive, libido, lust, concupiscence, hots, horns, arousal, heat, rut, estrus, oestrus, tumescence, erection, hard-on, boner, masturbation, self-gratification, autoeroticism, onanism, self- abuse, orgasm, climax, ejaculation, sexiness, attractiveness, sensuality, voluptuousness, fornication, adultery, sex symbol, sex goddess, stud, hunk, one-night stand, pornography, porn, porno, hardcore pornography, softcore pornography, pin-up, cheesecake, beefcake, Playboy, Esquire, Hustler, perversion, deviation, sexual abnormality, fetish, fetishism, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, sodomy, buggery, pederasty, sadism, masochism, sado-masochism, incest, sexy, erotic, sexual, carnal, sensual, hot, horny, randy, rutting, passionate, lusty, hot-blooded, libidinous, up, in the mood, homosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual.