equerry
/ɪˈkwɛ.ɹi/ noun
Forms equerries
- noun An officer responsible for the care and supervision of the horses of a person of rank.
- noun (UK) A personal attendant to a head of state, a member of a royal family, or a national representative.
Etymology
From an alteration of earlier esquiry (through the influence of the unrelated Latin equus), from Middle French escuirie, escuerie, derivative of escuyer (“squire”), or alternatively from Medieval Latin scuria (“stable”), from Old High German scura (“barn”). Compare esquire.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A large stable or lodge for horses. Johnson.
- noun An officer of princes or nobles, charged with the care of their horses.
Etymology [F. écurie stable, for older escurie, escuirie (confused somewhat with F. écuyer, OF. escuyer, squire), LL. scuria, OHG. skiura, sc, barn, shed, G. scheuer, from a root meaning to cover, protect, and akin to L. scutum shield. See Esquire, and cf. Ecurie, Querry.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “equerry”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details