---
title: esquire — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «esquire» in the school dictionary: A polite title written after a man's name in old letters and on envelopes, shortened to «Esq.». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esquire/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [E](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/) / esquire

# esquire

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** man, young man, Thomas Brown, esquire, young esquire, Old letters · **What happens:** write, shorten, name, serve, carry, use · **To what, where:** polite title, old letters, knight, history, shield, title

<!-- .vabout -->
«esquire» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [esquire in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/esquire.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A polite title written after a man's name in old letters and on envelopes, shortened to «Esq.».

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:m1:1
# text = A polite title written after a man's name in old letters and on envelopes, shortened to «Esq.».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	polite	polite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	title	title	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	after	after	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	on	on	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	envelopes	envelope	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	shortened	shorten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
18	to	to	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	Esq	esq	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | participle |  | a polite title *not said here* |  | old letters and envelopes | after a man's name |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent in letter=Destination |
| 2 | **shorten** | participle |  | a polite title *not said here* |  |  |  | to Esq | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **name** |  | a man |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
John Smith, Esq.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:m1e:1
# text = John Smith, Esq.
1	John	John	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	Smith	Smith	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	Esq	Esq	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In history, a young man of good family who served a knight and carried his shield; a squire.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:m2:1
# text = In history, a young man of good family who served a knight and carried his shield; a squire.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	history	history	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	served	serve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	carried	carry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
16	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
17	shield	shield	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	20	punct	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	squire	squire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **serve** | past | a young man of good family | a knight |  | history |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent knight=Value in history=Location |
| 2 | **carry** | past | a young man of good family *not said here* | man's shield |  |  |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shield=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: USA — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A title used after the names of lawyers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:m3:1
# text = A title used after the names of lawyers.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	title	title	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	after	after	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	lawyers	lawyer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | participle |  | a title *not said here* |  |  | after the names of lawyers |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **name** |  |  | lawyers |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The letter was addressed to «Thomas Brown, Esq.»

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:x1:1
# text = The letter was addressed to «Thomas Brown, Esq.»
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	addressed	address	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	Thomas	Thomas	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	Brown	Brown	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obl:agent	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	Esq	Esq	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **address** | past · passive | Thomas Brown and Esq | the letter |  |  |  |  | vn illustrate-25.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the Middle Ages, an esquire carried the knight's shield.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:x2:1
# text = In the Middle Ages, an esquire carried the knight's shield.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	Middle	Middle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	flat	_	_
4	Ages	Age	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	esquire	esquire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	carried	carry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	shield	shield	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | past | a esquire | the knight's shield |  |  | in the Middle Ages |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent shield=Value in age=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The young esquire hoped to become a knight one day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:x3:1
# text = The young esquire hoped to become a knight one day.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	esquire	esquire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	hoped	hope	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	become	become	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	xcomp	_	_
9	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hope** | past | the young esquire |  |  |  |  |  | vn long-32.2 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **become** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the young esquire *not said here* | a knight and one day |  |  |  |  | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Old letters often wrote «Esq.» after a gentleman's name.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:x4:1
# text = Old letters often wrote «Esq.» after a gentleman's name.
1	Old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	often	often	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Esq	esq	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
9	after	after	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	gentleman	gentleman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	's	PART	POS	_	11	case	_	_
13	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | past | Old letters | Esq |  |  | after a gentleman's name | often *property* | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent esq=Theme |
| 2 | **name** |  | a gentleman |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the USA some lawyers write «Esq.» after their names.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:x5:1
# text = In the USA some lawyers write «Esq.» after their names.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	USA	USA	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
4	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	5	det	_	_
5	lawyers	lawyer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	write	write	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	Esq	esq	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
11	after	after	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | present | some lawyers | Esq |  | the USA | after lawyers's names |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent esq=Theme in usa=Destination |
| 2 | **name** |  | lawyers *= lawyer* |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The esquire helped his knight put on his armour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:esquire:x6:1
# text = The esquire helped his knight put on his armour.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	esquire	esquire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	put	put	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	xcomp	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	armour	armour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | past | the esquire | esquire's knight |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent knight=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **put** | participle | esquire's knight *not said here* |  |  | esquire's armour |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V PP.destination NP»: agent=Agent on armour=Destination |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [esq](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/esq/)
- next →: [essay](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/essay/)
- ↑ back to [E in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/)