squire

C1 Topic:Culture & History

US /ˈskwaɪɚ/ UK /ˈskwaɪə/ See IPA manual

Freq #11189

Meanings

1

noun
historically, a young nobleman who attended a knight before becoming a knight himself

The squire carried his knight's shield and cared for his horse.
2

noun
a country landowner or leading gentleman, especially in historical England

The village squire owned most of the surrounding farmland.
3

verb
to attend or escort someone in a courteous or protective manner

He offered to squire his elderly aunt around the crowded exhibition.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · historically, a young... shield-bearerattendant

2 noun · a country landowner or... landownercountry gentleman

3 verb · to attend or escort someone... escort attend

Word family

Forms squire’s

Derived forms squirearchysquiredomsquirehoodsquireling

Related forms esquire knight gentry

Etymology

From Middle English squier, through Old French escuier, from Late Latin scutarius, "shield-bearer," based on Latin scutum, "shield." A squire first served a knight; the title later applied to members of the English landed gentry. Squire is a shortened doublet of esquire.

Topics

Culture & History

External links

# squire

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈskwaɪɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈskwaɪə/
**Frequency rank:** 11189

## Meanings
1. historically, a young nobleman who attended a knight before becoming a knight himself
2. a country landowner or leading gentleman, especially in historical England
3. to attend or escort someone in a courteous or protective manner

## Examples
- The squire carried his knight's shield and cared for his horse.
- The village squire owned most of the surrounding farmland.
- He offered to squire his elderly aunt around the crowded exhibition.

## Synonyms
- shield-bearer
- attendant
- landowner
- escort

## Derived Forms
- squirearchy
- squiredom
- squirehood
- squireling

## Related Forms
- esquire
- knight
- gentry

## Etymology
From Middle English squier, through Old French escuier, from Late Latin scutarius, "shield-bearer," based on Latin scutum, "shield." A squire first served a knight; the title later applied to members of the English landed gentry. Squire is a shortened doublet of esquire.

## Topics
- Culture & History

markdown