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[Manfrid]

Esquire Esquire(abbreviated Esq.) originally was a social rank title above that of mere gentleman, allowed, for example, to the sons of the nobles and the gentry who did not possess any other title. On this basis, a gentleman was designated Mr('mister' before his name), whereas an Esquire was designated 'Esq.'(without a nominal prefix) after his name. A very late example of this distinction is in the list of subscribers to The History of Elton, by the Rev. Rose Fuller Whistler, published in 1882, which clearly distinguishes between subscribers designated "Mr" and those designated "Esquire" ? of higher social position; though old-fashioned, "Esq." remains widely used in upper-class circles.In the United States, there are no native titled gentry or nobility. The suffix "Esq." has no legal meaning(except in some states), and may, in theory, be adopted by anyone,(given its meaning, any man). In practice, it is used almost exclusively by lawyers(of both sexes), and so it generally may be assumed that, when "Esq." appears on business cards or stationery, the man or woman so identified is a member of the bar.That "esquire" may be used to indicate that an individual is a lawyer is a remnant of the British practice, in which barristers claimed the status "Esquire" and solicitors used the term "Gentleman". In the United States, though a lawyer may choose to specialize in litigation or other types of law, there are no licensing or bar membership distinctions between the equivalent roles of barrister and solicitor. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquire awarulz 83 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[eatton50]

Esquire(abbreviated Esq.) originally was a social rank title above that of mere gentleman, allowed, for example, to the sons of the nobles and the gentry who did not possess any other title. On this basis, a gentleman was designated Mr('mister' before his name), whereas an Esquire was designated 'Esq.'(without a nominal prefix) after his name. A very late example of this distinction is in the list of subscribers to The History of Elton, by the Rev. Rose Fuller Whistler, published in 1882, which clearly distinguishes between subscribers designated "Mr" and those designated "Esquire" ? of higher social position; though old-fashioned, "Esq." remains widely used in upper-class circles.In the United States, there are no native titled gentry or nobility. The suffix "Esq." has no legal meaning(except in some states), and may, in theory, be adopted by anyone,(given its meaning, any man). In practice, it is used almost exclusively by lawyers(of both sexes), and so it generally may be assumed that, when "Esq." appears on business cards or stationery, the man or woman so identified is a member of the bar.That "esquire" may be used to indicate that an individual is a lawyer is a remnant of the British practice, in which barristers claimed the status "Esquire" and solicitors used the term "Gentleman". In the United States, though a lawyer may choose to specialize in litigation or other types of law, there are no licensing or bar membership distinctions between the equivalent roles of barrister and solicitor.

[Emil]

Originally an Job Description for a Knight in training, then... The "esq." suffix is short for esquire, which was originally a designation given to a young man who was in training to be a knight however by the 19th century it had come to be used  by members of the gentry(people who didn?t have to work for a living) who were below the rank of a knight but above the rank of a mere gentleman.  However since it was a title without any legal significance it got to the point where just about anyone who mingled with the gentry(or quality) could use it despite attempts in England to restrict its use to justices of the peace, military men, barristers*, physicians, and certain sons of knights and peers. Although I am a lawyer, I cannot give the exact reason why lawyers use it except that my friends and I who have discussed it think that attorneys use it out of the English tradition of using it for barristers and because they wanted a special title to distinguish themselves from everyone else.  I can say that at law school I was told that it is incorrect to refer to yourself as esquire(i.e. if I signed a letter Mary Jones, Esq.) and that it should only be used in referring to others, but that doesn?t stop lawyers from referring to themselves as esquires or putting it on their business cards. * In England the profession of being a lawyer is divided up into two professions, barristers and soliciters.  Barristers were(possibly still are) the higher status end of the profession and were considered to be gentlemen while a soliciter was merely a tradesman. Sources: What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Poole, my Jane Austen obsession, personal experience   Mistral's Recommendations What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England Amazon List Price: $15.00 Used from: $5.48 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5(based on 56 reviews) Mistral 83 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[kalvin71]

The "esq." suffix is short for esquire, which was originally a designation given to a young man who was in training to be a knight however by the 19th century it had come to be used  by members of the gentry(people who didn?t have to work for a living) who were below the rank of a knight but above the rank of a mere gentleman.  However since it was a title without any legal significance it got to the point where just about anyone who mingled with the gentry(or quality) could use it despite attempts in England to restrict its use to justices of the peace, military men, barristers*, physicians, and certain sons of knights and peers. Although I am a lawyer, I cannot give the exact reason why lawyers use it except that my friends and I who have discussed it think that attorneys use it out of the English tradition of using it for barristers and because they wanted a special title to distinguish themselves from everyone else.  I can say that at law school I was told that it is incorrect to refer to yourself as esquire(i.e. if I signed a letter Mary Jones, Esq.) and that it should only be used in referring to others, but that doesn?t stop lawyers from referring to themselves as esquires or putting it on their business cards. * In England the profession of being a lawyer is divided up into two professions, barristers and soliciters.  Barristers were(possibly still are) the higher status end of the profession and were considered to be gentlemen while a soliciter was merely a tradesman.

[Esdras]

Esquire Robert D. Ardizzi writes: As a practicing attorney, I was embarrassed the other day when I was asked the origin of the use of "Esquire" after an attorney's name. Because I hate to remain speechless on any topic, I would appreciate your help. Wow, a lawyer asks for my help! What a pleasant reversal of my usual circumst...um, whoops. Never mind. The usage of Esquire, used as a title and usually abbreviated Esq., has occasioned much spillage of ink in writings about the hierarchies of British life. Some relevant facts are that esquire etymologically and originally(give or take a few years) referred to a young man of noble birth who, as an aspirant to knighthood, served a knight(squire is now the word used for this, in historical senses only). It then meant 'a man belonging to an order of the English gentry ranking next below a knight', which encompassed various subclasses, such as the younger sons of peers, oldest sons of knights, and, most important for our purpose, men who held certain offices giving them the right to be called esquires, such as barristers(a form of lawyer), judges, and others. In England, Esquire was once used as a title for men who were esquires(in the sense of being in the next-lowest-to-a-knight rank of gentry); then it was applied to all men who may be regarded as "gentlemen"; finally, by the middle of this century, it came to be used as a courtesy title for all men. In America, the hierarchies of English aristocracy are not too important, and the use of esquire after a lawyer's name descends from its use by barristers in England. Two important pieces of etiquette to know about the usage of Esq. are that one does not use it of oneself(that is, one should not use it on one's own business cards or stationery)--it should be used only in address to other people; and that it takes precedence over all other titles, so that you shouldn't say "Mr. Robert D. Ardizzi, Esq." or even "Dr. John Smith, Esq.," but only "Robert D. Ardizzi, Esq." There was once some debate--even in law journals--as to whether "Esquire" could properly be used as a title after the names of female lawyers. Few people now challenge the appropriateness of such usage. Esquire is first recorded in English in the late fifteenth century; it comes, through Middle French, from Latin scútárius 'a shield-bearer', from scútum 'a shield'.

[xever]

Esquire(abbreviated Esq.) originally was a social rank title above that of mere gentleman, allowed, for example, to the sons of the nobles and the gentry who did not possess any other title. On this basis, a gentleman was designated Mr('mister' before his name), whereas an Esquire was designated 'Esq.'(without a nominal prefix) after his name. A very late example of this distinction is in the list of subscribers to The History of Elton, by the Rev. Rose Fuller Whistler, published in 1882, which clearly distinguishes between subscribers designated "Mr" and those designated "Esquire" ? of higher social position; though old-fashioned, "Esq." remains widely used in upper-class circles. In the United States, there are no native titled gentry or nobility. The suffix "Esq." has no legal meaning(except in some states), and may, in theory, be adopted by anyone,(given its meaning, any man). In practice, it is used almost exclusively by lawyers(of both sexes), and so it generally may be assumed that, when "Esq." appears on business cards or stationery, the man or woman so identified is a member of the bar. That "esquire" may be used to indicate that an individual is a lawyer is a remnant of the British practice, in which barristers claimed the status "Esquire" and solicitors used the term "Gentleman". In the United States, though a lawyer may choose to specialize in litigation or other types of law, there are no licensing or bar membership distinctions between the equivalent roles of barrister and solicitor.

[Jasmin]

Here is definition of "esq." copied from the dictionary that is built in to my Mac: Dictionary    Esq. abbreviation Esquire. esquire |?eskw?r; i?skw?r| noun 1(Esquire)(abbr.: Esq.) a title appended to a lawyer's surname. ? Brit. a polite title appended to a man's name when no other title is used, typically in the address of a letter or other documents : Robert A. Pearson Esquire. 2 historical a young nobleman who, in training for knighthood, acted as an attendant to a knight. ? an officer in the service of a king or nobleman. ? [as title ] a landed proprietor or country squire. ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French esquier, from Latin scutarius ?shield-bearer,? from scutum ?shield? ; compare with squire . Sense 2 was the original denotation, sense 1 being at first a courtesy title given to such a person. John Q. Lawyer, Esq. -- This just looks to me like someone who thinks he's hot stuff . . .  Guess I ain't sophisticated enuff.