squire

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈskwaɪə/ (UK); /ˈskwaɪɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English squier,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French esquier, escuier (“squire, literally shield-bearer”),^[2][3][4][6] from Late Latin scūtārius (“shield-bearer; guardsman”), from Latin scūtum (“shield”).^[3][7][6] It is an aphetic form of esquire, which appears later in English.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Earliest recorded meaning

A young man of good birth attending a knight (about 1225 in Barnhart; c. 1290 in the OED).^[3][12][4]

Semantic evolution

By about 1300 the word also named a member of the landowning class ranking below a knight.^[3][4] The verb, to escort or attend a lady as a squire, is recorded from the late 14th century;^[3][4][12] Chaucer uses it.^[11] The general sense “country gentleman, landed proprietor”, especially one who was also a local justice of the peace, dates from the 1670s.^[4][9] In the United States it became a title for a justice of the peace, lawyer or judge.^[5][8] As a familiar term of address to a man it is recorded from 1828,^[4][13] and in Britain it is often ironic.^[14] In Australia it names a young snapper.^[14][15] Derivatives include squirearchy, rule by country gentlemen (1789), and the Irish squireen, a petty squire.^[4][9]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – a knight's attendant.^[3]
• c. 1300 – a landowner ranking below a knight.^[3][4]
• c. 1386 – verb, to escort a lady.^[12]
• 1670s – a country gentleman.^[4]
• 1789 – squirearchy.^[4]
• 1828 – a term of address.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (historical) A young man of noble birth who served a knight as an attendant and shield-bearer, ranking next below a knight.
2. An English country gentleman, especially the chief landowner in a district.
3. A judge, justice of the peace or other local dignitary.
4. A man who attends or escorts a woman; a gallant.
5. (informal, chiefly British) A term of address used by one man to another.
6. (Australia) A young snapper (fish).

Verb

1. To attend as a squire; to escort.

Word family

• squirish
• squireless
• squirelike
• squiredom
• squireling
• squirearchy

Related words

• esquire
• escutcheon
• page

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
9. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ Cassell's Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, London: Cassell
14. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
15. ^ Morris, Edward E. (1898), Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases and Usages, London: Macmillan