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# esquire

noun (an esquire, esquires); title (Esq.)

«esquire» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A polite title written after a man's name in old letters and on envelopes, shortened to «Esq.»: John Smith, Esq. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#m1)
2. In history, a young man of good family who served a knight and carried his shield; a squire. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#m2)
3. (USA) A title used after the names of lawyers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#m3)

### In the lessons

Found in old books, letters and legal writing. On an envelope it shows respect for a gentleman. In Alice in Wonderland Alice, grown so tall her feet are far away, jokes about sending them a present addressed «Alice's Right Foot, Esq., Hearthrug, near the Fender» — a joke on grand letter addresses. In history lessons about knights, an esquire (squire) was a knight's helper on the way to becoming a knight.

### Examples

- The letter was addressed to «Thomas Brown, Esq.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#x1)
- In the Middle Ages, an esquire carried the knight's shield. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#x2)
- The young esquire hoped to become a knight one day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#x3)
- Old letters often wrote «Esq.» after a gentleman's name. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#x4)
- In the USA some lawyers write «Esq.» after their names. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#x5)
- The esquire helped his knight put on his armour. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/#x6)

### Note

Shortened to «Esq.» with a capital E. You use «Esq.» instead of «Mr», never both: «Mr John Smith» or «John Smith, Esq.» Old-fashioned today in Britain. Same word as «squire».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «esquire» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«esquire» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/esquire.html) on Mova free.