Etymologically
Log in

quaero

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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