equerry

noun

equer·ry ˈe-kwə-rē

i-ˈkwer-ē

plural equerries

: an officer of a prince or noble charged with the care of horses

: an officer of the British royal household in personal attendance on the sovereign or a member of the royal family

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The Queen was Charles' godmother, and his father John was an equerry to the monarch in the 1950s. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 6 May 2023 The Queen Consort hosted 11 children and their families and carers for some festive cheer complete with Father Christmas, reindeer, and even a royal equerry on hand to help decorate the tree with his sword. —

Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 7 Dec. 2022 The Queen was Charles' godmother, as his father John was an equerry to the monarch in the 1950s. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 23 Feb. 2023 Peter Townsend, a divorced World War II hero flyer and her father's equerry. —

Rasha Ali, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2022 Among those in attendance were King George VI and his wife, Elizabeth—good friends of Anne’s parents, who served the Royal Family in the antiquated roles of extra equerry and lady of the bedchamber. —

Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2023 Her equerry Ed Andersen placed decorations high up with his ceremonial sword as the children selected them from a table to hang on the tree. —

Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 7 Dec. 2022 Peter Townsend had been aboard as equerry to King George VI when Princess Margaret and the then-Princess Elizabeth sailed to South Africa on the key visit in 1947 when Elizabeth was to make her 21st birthday vow to serve all her days. —

Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2022 By then, it was already widely known that a romance had blossomed between Anne and her mother’s equerry Timothy Laurence. —

Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 13 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'equerry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

modification of Middle French ecurie, escuyrie squires (collectively), duties of a squire, care of horses, stable, from escuier squire — more at esquire

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of equerry was in 1591

See more words from the same year