quest

[ kwest ]

/ kwɛst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quest ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a search or pursuit made in order to find or obtain something: a quest for uranium mines; a quest for knowledge.

Medieval Romance. an adventurous expedition undertaken by a knight or knights to secure or achieve something: the quest of the Holy Grail.

those engaged in such an expedition.

British Dialect. inquest.

Obsolete. a jury of inquest.

verb (used without object)

to search; seek (often followed by for or after): to quest after hidden treasure.

to go on a quest.

Hunting. (of a dog)

to search for game.
to bay or give tongue in pursuit of game.

verb (used with object)

to search or seek for; pursue.

Nearby words

Origin of quest

1275–1325; (noun) Middle English queste < Old French < Latin quaesīta, feminine past participle of quaerere to seek; (v.) Middle English questen < Old French quester, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR quest

1. hunt, seeking, journey, mission, enterprise.

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Related formsquest·er, nounquest·ing·ly, adverbun·quest·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for questing

He had sent forth his questing, questioning soul, and he waited for an answer.
If You Touch Them They Vanish|Gouverneur Morris
It was certainly he who, questing for game in the night, marked the trail with his feet.
The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles|Jean Henri Fabre
The questing snout swung to and fro, fixed its position and discharged another of those lightning-bolts.
The Onslaught from Rigel|Fletcher Pratt
The vision vanished abruptly as his questing eyes made the circle of the ruined walls.
The Tree of Life|Catherine Lucille Moore

Again she fired; but now he was upon her and his hand had struck the pistol aside so that the questing bullet sped skywards.
Wolf Breed|Jackson Gregory

British Dictionary definitions for questing

quest

/ (kwɛst) /

noun

the act or an instance of looking for or seeking; searcha quest for diamonds

(in medieval romance) an expedition by a knight or company of knights to accomplish some prescribed task, such as finding the Holy Grail

the object of a search; goal or targetmy quest is the treasure of the king

rare a collection of alms

verb (mainly intr)

(foll by for or after) to go in search (of)

to go on a quest

(of gun dogs or hounds)

to search for game
to bay when in pursuit of game

rare to collect alms

(also tr) archaic to go in search of (a thing); seek or pursue

Derived Formsquester, nounquesting, adjectivequestingly, adverb

Word Origin for quest

C14: from Old French queste, from Latin quaesita sought, from quaerere to seek

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for questing

quest

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

mid-14c., "to seek game, hunt," from quest (n.) and from Old French quester "to search, hunt," from queste (n.). Related: Quested; questing.

Idioms and Phrases with questing

quest

see under in search of.

quest

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Origin of quest

Examples from the Web for questing

quest

noun

verb (mainly intr)

Word Origin for quest

quest

quest

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