(from the French escu, and the Latin scutum, in Greek σκῦτος, which signifies a hide, of which shields were anciently made, and with which they were afterwards covered) was originally he who, attending a knight in time of war, carried his shield; from which circumstance he was called escuier in French, and scutifer or armiger in Latin.

It is a matter somewhat unsettled, says Blackstone (b.i. ch. 12), what now constitutes this distinction, or who is a real esquire; for it is not an estate, however large, that confers this rank upon its owner. Camden, he adds, distinguishes them the most accurately, and he reckons four sorts of esquires: 1. The eldest sons of knights, and their eldest sons, in perpetual succession; 2. The eldest sons of younger sons of peers, and their eldest sons, in like succession; 3. Esquires created by the king's letters patent, and their eldest sons; 4. Esquires by virtue of their office, as justices of the peace, and others bearing any office of trust under the crown.