What is a Scottish squire?

In feudalism or the social structure of medieval Europe, a squire is a man of gentry holding a social status between a knight and a yeoman, and below a lord or laird.

There were no squire in feudal Scotland, but the term came to be used much more loosely in the 17th century to refer to lairds, particularly when viewed as a social type rather than as property owners, and even to gentlemen farmers; in effect "esquire" became simply a courtesy title.