Meaning & use
equerry
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Meanings
nouncountableBritish
A royal-household officer who assists a king, queen, prince, or princess with engagements, travel, and personal arrangements.
Grammar: Takes a plural equerries; often followed by to or of when naming the royal person served.
Patterns
- an equerry to the king
- serve as an equerry
- the prince’s equerry
- appoint an equerry
An equerry helped coordinate the queen’s crowded public schedule.
The young officer served as equerry to the prince during the state visit.
Reporters saw the princess arrive with an equerry and two aides.
nouncountableold-fashioned
Historically, an officer responsible for a noble or royal household’s horses and stables.
Grammar: This older meaning survives mainly in historical accounts, not in modern job titles.
Patterns
- the royal equerry of stables
- an equerry in charge of horses
- appoint an equerry
In Tudor times, an equerry managed the monarch’s horses and riding equipment.
The novel describes an equerry checking saddles before a hunting party.
Word forms
| plural | equeries |
|---|
Common combinations
- royal equerry
- A royal equerry briefed guests before the ceremony began.
- equerry to the queen
- As equerry to the queen, he traveled with the official party.
- personal equerry
- Her personal equerry carried the schedule for the day.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: equerry or esquire? equerry or equerry?
equerry vs esquire
Esquire is a courtesy title or old form of address, not a royal attendant role.
equerry vs equerry
Learners often miss the plural: one equerry, two equerries.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The plural of equerry is equerries, and the plural subject needs “were,” not “was”; the other spellings are invented.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “equerry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.