Both Uses of
Esquire
in
Henry IV, Part 2
- I am Robert Shallow, sir; a poor esquire of this county, and one of the king's justices of the peace: what is your good pleasure with me?†
Scene 3.2 *
- I'll through Gloucestershire; and there will I visit Master Robert Shallow, esquire: I have him already tempering between my finger and my thumb, and shortly will I seal with him.†
Scene 4.3
Definitions:
-
(1)
(Esquire) United States: a lawyer -- typically abbreviated after the name
United Kingdom: a title of respect for a man -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Esquire is also the name of a magazine. As a common noun, esquire was the title of a Middle Ages attendant and shield bearer to a knight. The attendant was also typically a candidate for knighthood. See the linked Wikipedia article for subsequent, but still dated, British usage.