Etymologically
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quaestura

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kʷae̯sˈtuː.ra][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kʷesˈtuː.ra][1]

Forms

quaestūra f (genitive quaestūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from quaestor with the suffix -ūra.[2][3][4] The office-holder's title is from quaerō (“to seek, inquire”),[4] and de Vaan notes that the Oscan and Umbrian words for quaestor are loans from Latin, with Umbrian kvestretie (“in the quaestorship”) derived from Umbrian ⟨kvestur⟩.[5] The origin of ⟨quaerō⟩ is disputed; de Vaan reports Nussbaum's proposal of a root Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[4] who calls the quaestorship the first step of office.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is the rank and office of a quaestor, the lowest office in the senatorial career, and a particular term of that office, as Cicero's remark that not a word was reported from someone's quaestorship in Spain.[2][3] Cicero and Tacitus speak of standing for the quaestorship.[3]

In medieval Latin it took new senses from ⟨quaerere⟩, a vicarage and a tallage, a kind of tax.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the quaestorship as the first step of office.[3][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of standing for the office.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The office of a quaestor, quaestorship.[2][3][1]
  2. A particular term as quaestor.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A vicarage.[6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A tallage, tax.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill