quaero

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkʷae̯.roː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkʷɛː.ro]^[1]

Forms

quaerō (present infinitive quaerere, perfect active quaesīvī or quaesiī, supine quaesītum); third conjugation^[1] The old spelling quairo appears in the epitaphs of the Scipios.^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.^[4][1][3] Nussbaum, followed by de Vaan, takes it as inherited from Proto-Italic *kʷai-s-e/o-, built on a present *kʷeh₂-i- of the root Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”), and compares Ancient Greek πέπαμαι (pépamai, “to possess”); de Vaan calls this the best proposal so far.^[4][1] The LIV follows Szemerényi in deriving it from *ko-ais- with the root *h₂eis- (“to seek”), but de Vaan objects that the prefix com- usually stays recognizable.^[4] The related quaesō “I beg” is a newer desiderative.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Livius Andronicus onwards.^[4] In Plautus someone tells a man who has searched everywhere that if he had been looking for a needle he would have found it by now.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant to seek or search for, to miss something one cannot find, and to ask for a person.^[3] It meant to try to obtain, as Plautus' borrowed money and Ennius' kings seeking statues and tombs, and of things to require or need.^[3] It also meant to aim at, and to earn or acquire, as in Plautus.^[3]

From seeking came asking: to inquire about something, to examine or consider a question, as Lucilius does, and to hold a judicial inquiry.^[3] From it came quaestio “inquiry” and quaestor.^[4] It survives as Italian chiedere and Romanian cere “to ask”, French quérir, and Spanish and Portuguese querer “to want”.^[1] English quest and question came through Old French, and query from the Latin imperative quaere.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for searching and for earning.^[3][6]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it for seeking.^[3][6]
• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it for inquiring into nature.^[3][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for questions put to someone.^[3][6]
• early 13th century – English question is first recorded.^[5]
• c. 1300 – English quest is first recorded, for a judicial inquiry.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To seek, look for.^[3][2]
2. To miss, (passive) to be missing.^[3][1]
3. To ask for (a person).^[3]
4. To try to obtain, strive for.^[3][1]
5. To require, need.^[3][1]
6. To aim at.^[3][1]
7. To earn, acquire.^[3]
8. To ask, inquire about.^[3][1]
9. To examine, consider.^[3]
10. (law) To investigate.^[3]

Word family

• acquīrō
• anquīrō
• conquīrō
• disquīrō
• exquīrō
• inquīrō
• inquīsītus
• perquīrō
• quaeritō
• quaesītiō
• quaesītor
• quaesītum

Related words

• quaesō
• quaestiō
• quaestor
• English quest
• English question
• English query
• English acquire

Usage notes

Döderlein treats quaerere as the general word for seeking, while scrutari and rimari add the idea of effort; as a word for asking, it is a plain question, unlike the urgent percontari.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper