conquer

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English conqueren (early cunquearen),^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French conquerre,^[5][2][6] from Vulgar Latin *conquaerō,^[2][4][3] a form of Latin conquīrō (“to seek out, search for, procure by effort”) remodelled after the simple verb quaerō (“to seek, gain”).^[5][7] The Latin compound was formed with con-, expressing completion.^[5][8] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records the verb from the first third of the 12th century, in senses that range from winning a land by force of arms to earning something by work.^[9] Ayto relates the Latin verb to query, quest, question, inquire and require.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To acquire or gain something by effort: c1230, in Hali Meidenhad; this sense died out after the middle of the 16th century.^[5][11] Etymonline and Barnhart date the Middle English verb to about 1200, and Etymonline glosses it "to achieve (a task)".^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Ayto describes how the Latin idea of searching for something slid into acquiring it, including by force of arms.^[10] The military sense, to win by fighting or to subjugate a country, is recorded from 1297, in Robert of Gloucester's chronicle,^[5] and to defeat an adversary from c1374, in Chaucer's Anelida and Arcite;^[5] both senses were already present in Old French.^[5][9] Ayto notes that William I appears to have been called the Conqueror from around 1300.^[10] Figurative uses followed: to master or overcome a feeling or difficulty from 1655,^[5] to win something against opposition from 1676,^[5] and in mountaineering to climb a peak successfully from 1883.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined the verb as to gain by conquest, to overcome, subdue or vanquish.^[12] In West Yorkshire dialect conquer over meant to crow over someone,^[13] and the conker game was also spelt conquer or conqueror.^[13][14]

Timeline

• c1200 – cunquearen, to achieve.^[2][3]
• c1230 – to acquire or gain by effort (obsolete after 1552).^[5]
• 1297 – to win by fighting; to subjugate.^[5]
• c1374 – to overcome an adversary; to vanquish.^[5]
• 1655 – figurative, to master or overcome.^[5]
• 1676 – to win by a struggle against opposition.^[5]
• 1883 – (mountaineering) to climb successfully.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To take control of a country or people by military force; to subjugate.
2. To defeat or overcome an enemy or opponent: The rebels were conquered after a long siege.
3. To overcome a difficulty, fear or weakness by effort: She finally conquered her fear of flying.
4. To win someone's love or admiration, or success in a field: The young band went on to conquer America.
5. (mountaineering) To reach the top of a mountain.

Word family

• conquerable
• conqueror
• conquerableness
• unconquered
• preconquer
• reconquer
• conquest

Related words

• query
• quest
• question
• inquire
• require
• conker

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
14. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press