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Esquire (British English: ; American English: , or ; abbreviated Esq.)〔'esquire, n.1' and 'esq., n.1.3.a.': Oxford English Dictionary Online: Accessed October 4, 2011 00:41BST〕 is usually a courtesy title. ''Esquire'' is similar to the word ''squire'', which in medieval times meant an apprentice to a knight. In the United Kingdom, ''Esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, below the rank of knight and above the rank of gentleman. It later came to be used as a general courtesy title for any man in a formal setting, usually as a suffix to his name, as in "John Smith, Esq.", with no precise significance.〔''esquire''. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 3 May. 2010. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/esquire ).〕〔''Oxford English Dictionary'', second edition (1991)〕 In certain formal contexts, it remains an indication of a social status that is recognised in the formal Order of Precedence.〔Order of Precedence Amongst Gentlemen in England and Wales (http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/hierarchies/precedence-amongst-gentlemen-england-and-wales ).〕 In the United States, ''Esquire'' is mostly used to denote a lawyer; in a departure from traditional use, it is used irrespective of gender, and women lawyers use the title as well as men. In letters, a lawyer is customarily addressed by adding the suffix ''Esquire'' (abbreviated ''Esq.''), preceded by a comma, after the lawyer's full name.〔Thompson, Kathryn. (Tussle Over Titles ), ''ABA Journal'', January 2006.〕 ==History== Chief Justice Coke (1552–1634) defined "gentlemen" as those who bear coat armour. From the 16th century such families were defined by the inclusion of their pedigrees within their county's Heraldic Visitations, which necessitated their submitting a return of their pedigree to the visiting herald at the specified location, generally one of the chief towns of the county. The 1623 Heraldic Visitation for Gloucestershire, for example, includes a section at the back headed:〔Maclean, Sir John; Heane, W.C., eds. (1885). The Visitation of the County of Gloucester, taken in the year 1623, by Henry Chitty and John Phillipot as deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms; with pedigrees from the heralds’ visitation of 1569 and 1582-3, and sundry miscellaneous pedigrees. Harleian Society, 1st ser. 21. London, pp.197-199 ()〕 ''"A note of such as were disclaymed to be no gentilmen within the county and citty of Gloucester"'', the list being headed by ''"Edward Hill, Customer, of Gloucester, neither gentilman of bloud, ancestry nor armes"''. The list thus identifies those persons whose returns were not accepted, perhaps because fabricated or insufficiently evidenced in some way. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Esquire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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