The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French (modern French ), itself derived from the Late Latin ("shield bearer"), in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer". The term has evolved in its uses, referring in the Middle Ages to a trainee knight; after that to the leader of an English village—often a justice of the peace or a Member of Parliament; and, currently, to a justice of the peace or to a similar local dignitary in the United States; to an attendant escorting a woman, or to a gallant.
Squires were gentlemen with a coat of arms and were often related to peers. Many could claim descent from knights and had been settled in their inherited estates for hundreds of years. The squire usually lived at the village manor house and owned an estate comprising the village, with the villagers being his tenants. If the squire "owned the living" (i.e. -- "was patron") of the parish church;and he often did—he would choose the rector, a role often filled by the middle son of the squire. Some squires also became the local rector themselves and were known as squarsons;a portmanteau of the words squire and parson. The squire would also have performed a number of important local duties, in particular that of justice of the peace or Member of Parliament.
Such was the power of the squires at this time that modern historians have created the term squirearchy. Politically, during the 19th century, squires tended to be Tories whereas the greatest landlords tended to be Whigs.
The position of squire was traditionally associated with occupation of the manor house, which would often itself confer the dignity of squire. It is unclear how widely the village squire may still be said to survive today; but where it does, the role is likely more dependent upon a recognition of good manners, lineage and long family association rather than land, which, while relevant, is nowadays likely to be considerably smaller than in former years due to high post-war death duties and the prohibitive costs associated with maintaining large country houses.
In Scotland, whilst Esquire and Gentleman are technically correctly used at the Court of the Lord Lyon, the title Laird, in place of squire, is more common. Moreover, in Scotland, Lairds append their territorial designation to their names as was traditionally done on the continent of Europe (e.g., Donald Cameron of Lochiel). The territorial designation fell into disuse in England early on, save for peers of the realm.
In the post-medieval world, the title of esquire came to belong to all men of the higher landed gentry; an esquire ranked socially above a gentleman but below a knight. In the modern world, where all men are assumed to be gentlemen, the term has correspondingly often been extended (albeit only in very formal writing) to all men without any higher title. It is used post-nominally, usually in abbreviated form: "Thomas Smith, Esq.", for example.
In the United States, this style is most common among attorneys, borrowing from the English tradition whereby all barristers were styled "Esquires". (Solicitors were only entitled to the style "Mr".) In earlier years in the U.S. the title squire was given to a Justice of the Peace, for example Squire Jones. It was also used to mean Justice of the Peace as in the example "He was taken before the squire." It appears that the connection to attorneys evolved from a time when squires meeting to negotiate a duel would instead resolve the dispute, see the heading England on Trial by Combat.
The linguistic and social development of squire is paralleled by that of the German junker, which originally meant "young lord" and denoted the poorer and unimportant part of the aristocracy, but "went up in the world" in much the same time as squire did in England.
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