English
quest
Quest comes from Latin quaesta ‘tribute, tax, inquiry, search’, and goes back to quaerō ‘to ask, seek’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to ask, seek’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaesta‘tribute, tax, inquiry, search’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400queste
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quest‘a legal inquest or investigation’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606quest
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to ask, seek’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaesta‘tribute, tax, inquiry, search’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400queste
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quest‘a legal inquest or investigation’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606quest
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “Cease your quest of love.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ‘to acquire’
through Latin quaerō ‘to ask, seek’
acquisition, inquiry, exquisite, conquer, inquisition, enquiry, inquire, query, requisite, inquisitor, 12 more
Today it means
noun A journey or effort in pursuit of a goal (often lengthy, ambitious, or fervent); a mission.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin quaerō / quest