English
quaestor
Quaestor comes from Latin quaerō ‘to seek, look for’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to seek, look for’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaestor
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500questor
- Englishearliest quotation 1969quaestor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to seek, look for’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaestor
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500questor
- Englishearliest quotation 1969quaestor
Earliest quotation: 1969, Victor Ernest Watts, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (author): “Decoratus was quæstor in A.D. 508.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ‘to acquire’
through Proto-Italic *kʷaizō
conquest, questionnaire, 9 more
through Latin quaerō ‘to seek, look for’
acquisition, inquiry, quest, conquer, exquisite, query, enquiry, inquisition, inquire, requisite, inquisitor, 11 more
Today it means
noun An ancient Roman official responsible for public revenue and other financial affairs.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin quaerō / quaestor