quêter

Forms

quêter^[1] Old French quester;^[2][3] quêter from the early 17th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French quête + -er, first as quester.^[3][4][5] The noun quête is the feminine past participle, used as a noun, of the Old French verb querre (“to seek”), from Latin quaesītus; the participle itself had gone out of use before the first texts.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded as quester about 1150, meaning “to seek”;^[4][2] the TLFi's first example is in Aucassin et Nicolette (early 13th century).^[3]

Semantic evolution

The verb followed the same course as quête.^[6] Its general sense “to look for”, used until the 16th century and rare afterwards,^[5] gave way to quérir and above all to chercher, but it survived in hunting, of searching for game (1394, then 1606 in Nicot).^[6][3] The sense “to acquire” (1246, Gautier de Metz) was pushed out by acquérir.^[6][3]

Today quêter means to ask for and collect alms (16th century; used absolutely by Montaigne, 1588), especially in church, and figuratively to seek something such as praise or sympathy as a favour (quêter des louanges, 1740).^[6][3] In Quebec French quêter quelque chose à quelqu'un is to ask someone for something as a gift or a loan.^[6] The derivative quêteur, first questeor (early 13th century), is a doublet in form of the borrowing questeur.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – Quester “to seek”.^[4][2]
• early 13th century – Quester in Aucassin et Nicolette.^[3]
• 1246 – Gautier de Metz writes quester rentes et tresors “to acquire income and treasure”.^[3]
• 1394 – Used in hunting, in Hardouin's Trésor de vénerie.^[3]
• 1588 – Montaigne writes quester les aumosnes “to collect alms”.^[3]
• early 17th century – The spelling quêter.^[2]
• 1668 – La Fontaine uses it of a dog seeking the trail of game.^[2]
• 1740 – The Académie records quêter des louanges.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (hunting) To search for game; used absolutely of a dog looking for the scent.^[7][2][8]
2. To take a collection, to ask for and collect money for charity or for the church: quêter à la sortie de la messe.^[7][8][1]
3. (figurative) To seek (praise, approval, a vote) as a favour, to beg for: quêter des louanges.^[8][3][7]
4. (dated) To look for (someone or something).^[3][8]
5. (Quebec) To ask someone for something as a gift or a loan.^[6]

Word family

• quêteur

Related words

• quête
• quérir
• enquête
• Latin quaerō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette