Both Uses of
Esquire
in
The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Sir Hugh, persuade me not; I will make a Star Chamber matter of it; if he were twenty Sir John Falstaffs, he shall not abuse Robert Shallow, esquire.†
Scene 1.1 *
- He hath wronged me; indeed he hath;—at a word, he hath, —believe me; Robert Shallow, esquire, saith he is wronged.†
Scene 1.1
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.