Adjacent Words

Quest definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

QUEST, n. [L. quaero, quaestus. As the letter r is rarely changed into s, perhaps the L. quaesivi, quaestus, may be from the root of quaeso.]
1. The act of seeking; search; as, to rove in quest of game; to go in quest of a lost child; in quest of property, etc.
2. Inquest; a jury. [Not used.]
3. Searchers, collectively. [Not used.]
4. Inquiry; examination. [Not used.]
5. Request; desire; solicitation.
Gad not abroad at every quest and call of an untrain'd hope or passion.
QUEST, v.i. To go in search. [Not used.]
QUEST, v.t. To search or seek for.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria; "the pursuit of love"; "life is more than the pursuance of fame"; "a quest for wealth" [syn: pursuit, pursuance, quest]
2: the act of searching for something; "a quest for diamonds" [syn: quest, seeking] v
1: make a search (for); "Things that die with their eyes open and questing"; "The animal came questing through the forest"
2: search the trail of (game); "The dog went off and quested"
3: bark with prolonged noises, of dogs [syn: bay, quest]
4: seek alms, as for religious purposes
5: express the need or desire for; ask for; "She requested an extra bed in her room"; "She called for room service" [syn: request, bespeak, call for, quest]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French queste, Vulgar Latin *quaesta, from Latin, feminine of quaestus, past participle of quaerere Date: 14th century 1. a. a jury of inquest b. investigation 2. an act or instance of seeking: a. pursuit, search b. a chivalrous enterprise in medieval romance usually involving an adventurous journey 3. obsolete a person or group of persons who search or make inquiry II. verb Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. of a dog a. to search a trail b. bay 2. to go on a quest transitive verb 1. to search for 2. to ask for • quester noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a search or the act of seeking. 2 the thing sought, esp. the object of a medieval knight's pursuit. --v. 1 intr. (often foll. by about) a (often foll. by for) go about in search of something. b (of a dog etc.) search about for game. 2 tr. poet. search for, seek out. Phrases and idioms: in quest of seeking. Derivatives: quester n. questingly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF queste, quester ult. f. L quaerere quaest- seek

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quest Quest, v. t. [Cf. OF. quester, F. qu[^e]ter. See Quest, n.] To search for; to examine. [R.] --Sir T. Herbert.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quest Quest, v. i. To go on a quest; to make a search; to go in pursuit; to beg. [R.] If his questing had been unsuccessful, he appeased the rage of hunger with some scraps of broken meat. --Macaulay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quest Quest, n. [OF. queste, F. qu[^e]te, fr. L. quaerere, quaesitum, to seek for, to ask. Cf. Query, Question.] 1. The act of seeking, or looking after anything; attempt to find or obtain; search; pursuit; as, to rove in quest of game, of a lost child, of property, etc. Upon an hard adventure yet in quest. --Spenser. Cease your quest of love. --Shak. There ended was his quest, there ceased his care. --Milton. 2. Request; desire; solicitation. Gad not abroad at every quest and call Of an untrained hope or passion. --Herbert. 3. Those who make search or inquiry, taken collectively. The senate hath sent about three several quests to search you out. --Shak. 4. Inquest; jury of inquest. What lawful quest have given their verdict ? --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(quests) A quest is a long and difficult search for something. (LITERARY) My quest for a better bank continues. = search N-COUNT: oft N for n, N to-inf • If you go in quest of something, you try to find or obtain it. He went on to say that he was going to New York in quest of peace... PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Search. 2. Pursuit, suit. 3. Inquiry, examination. 4. Request, desire, prayer, solicitation, invitation, demand.

Moby Thesaurus

adventure, angle for, ask for, bay, beat about for, cast about, chase, chivy, crusade, delve for, delving, dig for, dog, dogging, domiciliary visit, dragnet, emprise, expedition, exploration, ferret out, fish for, follow, follow up, follow-up, following, forage, frisk, give chase, go after, go gunning for, gun for, hollo after, hound, house-search, hue and cry, hunt, hunt for, hunt up, hunting, inquest, inquiry, inquisition, investigation, look, look for, look up, make after, mission, perquisition, pilgrimage, posse, probe, probing, prosecute, prosecution, prowl after, pursual, pursuance, pursue, pursuing, pursuit, quest after, raise the hunt, ransacking, research, rummage, run after, search, search for, search out, search party, search warrant, search-and-destroy operation, searching, see to, seek, seek for, seek out, seeking, shadowing, stalk, stalking, still hunt, still-hunt, take out after, track down, tracking, tracking down, trailing, try to find, turning over, ululate, wail