English
inquisitor
Inquisitor comes from Latin inquīsītor ‘inquisitor, tracker, detective, spy’, and goes back to quaerō ‘seek, look for’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘seek, look for’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquīrō‘inquire, investigate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquīsītor‘inquisitor, tracker, detective, spy’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400inquisiteur
- Englishtodayinquisitor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘seek, look for’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquīrō‘inquire, investigate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquīsītor‘inquisitor, tracker, detective, spy’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400inquisiteur
- Englishtodayinquisitor
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ‘to acquire’
through Proto-Italic *kʷaizō
conquest, questionnaire, 11 more
through Latin quaerō ‘seek, look for’
quest, acquisition, query, conquer, exquisite, requisite, 15 more
through Latin inquīrō ‘inquire, investigate’
Today it means
noun A person who inquires, especially searchingly or ruthlessly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin quaerō / inquisitor