quest
pronunciation
How to pronounce quest in British English: UK [kwest]
How to pronounce quest in American English: US [kwest]
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- Noun:
- a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
- the act of searching for something
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- Verb:
- make a search (for)
- search the trail of (game)
- bark with prolonged noises, of dogs
- seek alms, as for religious purposes
- express the need or desire for; ask for
Word Origin
- quest (n.)
- c. 1300, "an inquest;" early 14c., "a search for something" (especially of judicial inquiries or hounds seeking game), from Old French queste "search, quest, chase, hunt, pursuit; inquest, inquiry" (12c., Modern French quête), properly "the act of seeking," and directly from Medieval Latin questa "search, inquiry," alteration of Latin quaesitus (fem. quaesita) "sought-out, select," past participle of quaerere "seek, gain, ask" (see query (n.)). Romance sense of "adventure undertaken by a knight" (especially the search for the Grail) is attested from late 14c. Johnson's dictionary has questmonger "Starter of lawsuits or prosecutions."
- quest (v.)
- mid-14c., "to seek game, hunt," from quest (n.) and from Old French quester "to search, hunt," from queste (n.). Related: Quested; questing.
Example
- 1. Make it part of your quest for better health .
- 2. Bgi is not alone in its quest for innovation .
- 3. In the quest for youthful beauty , no treatment is too outlandish .
- 4. Caught in the middle of this debate is our simple quest for fundamental knowledge .
- 5. But the quest for their patronage demands resolute patience .