[4] The 1826 edition of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England reiterated that "the title should be limited to those only who bear an office of trust under the Crown and who are styled esquires by the king in their commissions and appointments; and all, I conceive, who are once honoured by the king with the title of esquire have a right to that distinction for life.
"[5][6] By the early 20th century, however, esquire was being used as a general courtesy title for any man in a formal setting, with no precise significance, usually as a suffix to his name, and commonly with initials only.
In the United Kingdom today, esquire is still occasionally used as a written style of address in formal or professional correspondence.
[9] In the legal profession, the title is available for barristers who have achieved the appointment of King's Counsel as they are designated as esquires on their letters patent.
[11] According to research by a New York City Bar Association committee, in the United States, esquire over time came to refer "commonly and exclusively" to lawyers, but how that happened is unclear.
Sir John Fearn in "Glory of Generositie" spoke of esquires by creation, birth, dignity and office, specifying several circumstances that customarily conferred the title.
Besides those Esquires who are personal attendants of Knights of Orders of Knighthood, this title is held by all attendants on the person of the Sovereign, and all persons holding the Sovereign's commission being of military rank not below Captain; also, by general concession, by Barristers at Law, Masters of Arts and Bachelors of Law and Physic.James Parker supplied the following definition:[19] Esquire, (Latin: armiger, French: escuyer): a title of a gentleman of the rank immediately below a knight.
Esquires may be theoretically divided into five classes: Oxford Dictionaries provided for the following definition of esquire in 2016:[20] By the end of the 16th century, the pretentious use of the title, especially in its Latin form, armiger, was being mocked by Shakespeare in his character Robert Shallow, a justice of the peace: ...a gentleman born, master parson; who writes himself "Armigero," in any bill, warrant, quittance, or obligation, "Armigero.
[citation needed] Today the term "gentleman" is still found in official tables of precedence, and it means a person who is an armiger with no higher rank or a descendant of someone who has borne arms.
Rose Fuller Whistler, published in 1892, which distinguishes between subscribers designated Mr. (another way of indicating gentlemen) and those allowed esquire.
But formal definitions like these were proposed because there was, in reality, no fixed criterion distinguishing those designated esquire: it was essentially a matter of impression as to whether a person qualified for this status.
had become universal in the United Kingdom by the mid 20th century, with no distinction in status being perceived between Mr and esquire.
However, from around 2010 it has started to return once more as a formal address to a male in business and also in a social setting, particularly where the status of an individual is unknown so is used more as a general courtesy title.
after their names, while men of foreign nationalities instead have the prefix Mr (women are addressed as Miss, Ms, or Mrs).
Today, the title of esquire is defined as a social dignity that refers to people of the Scottish gentry, who hold the next position in the Order of Precedence above gentlemen.
Whether an armiger is a gentleman, an esquire, or of a higher rank can be told by the type of helm depicted on the letters patent granting or matriculating the arms.
[28][29] The Court of the Lord Lyon will display the helm appropriate to their "degree", or social rank, in the illustration on the letters patent.
The definition of esquire today includes: There is some confusion over the fact that the Lord Lyon King of Arms addresses correspondents by their name followed by "Esq."
[35] In feudal times an esquire was an armour-bearer, attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique armorial device.
[11] Similarly, when addressing social correspondence to a commissioned officer of the United States Foreign Service, esquire may be used as a complimentary title.
In Belgium, écuyer (French) or its Dutch equivalent jonkheer is the lowest title within the nobility system, recognised by the Court of Cassation.