Esquire

:This article is about the title. For alternative meanings, see: Esquire (disambiguation)

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Esquire (abbreviated Esq.) was originally a social rank above that of mere gentleman, allowed, for example, to the sons of nobles and gentry who did not possess any other title. A gentleman, on this basis, was designated Mr (before his name) whereas an Esquire was so designated (with no prefix before the name) after his name. A very late example of this distinction can be seen in the list of subscribers to The History of Elton by the Rev. Rose Fuller Whistler, published in 1882, which clearly distinguishes between subscribers designated "Mr" and those, of higher social position, designated "Esquire". But even then this was somewhat old-fashioned. Today the term is often used instead of Mr on official documents and in formal correspondence. It is linked to the word squire which refers to a knight's servant. There is no female equivalent for the social form although in the United States it is sometimes used professionally for female lawyers. The 1913 Webster's Dictionary gives the following definition of esquire:

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:Es*quire" (?), n. 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.

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Gentleman: The term gentleman (from Latin gentilis, belonging to a race or gens, and "man", cognate with the French word gentilhomme, the Spanish hombre gentil, and the Italian gentil huomo), in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of good family, the Latin generosus (its invariable translatio...

Nobles: redirect Nobility...

Gentry: Before the Industrial Revolution, the gentry was located between the yeomanry and the nobility. Unlike the yeomen, the gentry did not work the land themselves; instead, they hired tenant farmers. Unlike the nobility, they lacked hereditary titles and privileges....

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