Quest - Quicksand

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Quest (?), n. [OF. queste, F. quête, fr. L. quaerere, quaesitum, to seek for, to ask. Cf. , .] 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.
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Upon an hard adventure yet in quest. Spenser.
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Cease your quest of love. Shak.
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There ended was his quest, there ceased his care. Milton.
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2. Request; desire; solicitation.
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Gad not abroad at every quest and call
Of an untrained hope or passion. Herbert.
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3. Those who make search or inquiry, taken collectively.
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The senate hath sent about three several quests to search you out. Shak.
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4. Inquest; jury of inquest.
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What lawful quest have given their verdict ? Shak.
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Quest, v. t. [Cf. OF. quester, F. quêter. See , n.] To search for; to examine. [R.] Sir T. Herbert.
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Quest, v. i. To go on a quest; to make a search; to go in pursuit; to beg. [R.]
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If his questing had been unsuccessful, he appeased the rage of hunger with some scraps of broken meat. Macaulay.
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Questant (?), n. [OF. questant, F. quêtant, p. pr.] One who undertakes a quest; a seeker. [Obs.] Shak.
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Quester (?), n. One who seeks; a seeker. [Obs.]
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Question (?), n. [F., fr. L. quaestio, fr. quaerere, quaesitum, to seek for, ask, inquire. See , n.] 1. The act of asking; interrogation; inquiry; as, to examine by question and answer.
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2. Discussion; debate; hence, objection; dispute; doubt; as, the story is true beyond question; he obeyed without question.
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There arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. John iii. 25.
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It is to be to question, whether it be lawful for Christian princes to make an invasive war simply for the propagation of the faith. Bacon.
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3. Examination with reference to a decisive result; investigation; specifically, a judicial or official investigation; also, examination under torture. Blackstone.
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He that was in question for the robbery. Shak.
The Scottish privy council had power to put state prisoners to the question. Macaulay.
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4. That which is asked; inquiry; interrogatory; query.
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But this question asked
Puts me in doubt. Lives there who loves his pain ? Milton.
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5. Hence, a subject of investigation, examination, or debate; theme of inquiry; matter to be inquired into; as, a delicate or doubtful question.
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6. Talk; conversation; speech; speech. [Obs.] Shak.
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Coloq. In question , in debate; in the course of examination or discussion; as, the matter or point in question. -- Coloq. Leading question . See under . -- Coloq. Out of question , unquestionably. “Out of question, 't is Maria's hand.” Shak. -- Coloq. Out of the question . See under . -- Coloq. Past question , beyond question; certainly; undoubtedly; unquestionably. -- Coloq. Previous question , a question put to a parliamentary assembly upon the motion of a member, in order to ascertain whether it is the will of the body to vote at once, without further debate, on the subject under consideration. The form of the question is: “Shall the main question be now put?” If the vote is in the affirmative, the matter before the body must be voted upon as it then stands, without further general debate or the submission of new amendments. In the House of Representatives of the United States, and generally in America, a negative decision operates to keep the business before the body as if the motion had not been made; but in the English Parliament, it operates to postpone consideration for the day, and until the subject may be again introduced. In American practice, the object of the motion is to hasten action, and it is made by a friend of the measure. In English practice, the object is to get rid of the subject for the time being, and the motion is made with a purpose of voting against it. Cushing. -- Coloq. To beg the question . See under . -- Coloq. To the question , to the point in dispute; to the real matter under debate.
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Syn. -- Point; topic; subject.
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Question, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Questioned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Questioning.] [Cf. F. questionner. See , n.] 1. To ask questions; to inquire.
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He that questioneth much shall learn much. Bacon.
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2. To argue; to converse; to dispute. [Obs.]
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I pray you, think you question with the Jew. Shak.
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Question, v. t. 1. To inquire of by asking questions; to examine by interrogatories; as, to question a witness.
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2. To doubt of; to be uncertain of; to query.
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And most we question what we most desire. Prior.
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3. To raise a question about; to call in question; to make objection to. “But have power and right to question thy bold entrance on this place.” Milton.
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4. To talk to; to converse with.
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With many holiday and lady terms he questioned me. Shak.
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Syn. -- To ask; interrogate; catechise; doubt; controvert; dispute. -- Question, Inquire, Interrogate. To inquire is merely to ask for information, and implies no authority in the one who asks. To interrogate is to put repeated questions in a formal or systematic fashion to elicit some particular fact or facts. To question has a wider sense than to interrogate, and often implies an attitude of distrust or opposition on the part of the questioner.
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Questionability (?), n. The state or condition of being questionable. Stallo.
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Questionable (?), a. 1. Admitting of being questioned; inviting, or seeming to invite, inquiry. [R.]
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Thou com'st in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee. Shak.
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2. Liable to question; subject to be doubted or called in question; problematical; doubtful; suspicious.
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It is questionable whether Galen ever saw the dissection of a human body.T. Baker.
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Syn. -- Disputable; debatable; uncertain; doubtful; problematical; suspicious.
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Questionableness, n. The quality or state of being questionable, doubtful, or suspicious.
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Questionably, adv. In a questionable manner.
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Questionary (?), a. Inquiring; asking questions; testing. “Questionary epistles.” Pope.
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Questionary, n. 1. One who makes it his business to seek after relics and carry them about for sale.
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2. A set of questions for submission to a group of persons for the purpose of bringing out their resemblances and differences in the matter considered. The questionary method is a recognized form of psychological investigation.
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Questioner (?), n. One who asks questions; an inquirer. “Little time for idle questioners.” Tennyson.
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Questionist, n. 1. A questioner; an inquirer. [Obs.]
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2. (Eng. Univ.) A candidate for honors or degrees who is near the time of his examination.
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Questionless, a. Unquestioning; incurious. [R.]
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questionless, adv. Beyond a question or doubt; doubtless; certainly. [R.] South.
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What it was in the apostles' time, that, questionless, it must be still. Milton.
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questionnaire (?), n.; pl. -naires (F. �). [F.] 1. same as .
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2. A list of questions, usually on a printed form, to be answered by an individual. The forms often have blank spaces in which the answers can be written. Sets of such forms are distributed to groups and the answers used for various purposes, such as to obtain statistical information for social science, political, or marketing research, or to obtain information about a patient for the use of medical practitioners.
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Questman (?), n.; pl. Questmen (�). One legally empowered to make quest of certain matters, esp. of abuses of weights and measures. Specifically: (a) A churchwarden's assistant; a sidesman. Blount. [Obs.] (b) A collector of parish rents. Blount. [Obs.]
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Questmonger (?), n. One who lays informations, and encourages petty lawsuits. [Obs.] Bacon.
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Questor (?), n. [L. quaestor, contr. fr. quaesitor, fr. quaerere, quaesitum, to seek for, ask: cf. F. questeur.] (Rom. Antiq.) An officer who had the management of the public treasure; a receiver of taxes, tribute, etc.; treasurer of state. [Written also quæstor.]
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☞ At an early period there were also public accusers styled questors, but the office was soon abolished.
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Questorship, n. The office, or the term of office, of a questor.
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Questrist (?), n. [See .] A seeker; a pursuer. [Obs.] “Hot questrists after him.” Shak.
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Questuary (?), a. [L. quaestuarius, from quaestus gain, profit, quaerere, quaesitum, to seek for, earn.] Studious of profit. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
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Questuary, n. One employed to collect profits. [R.] “The pope's questuaries.” Jer. Taylor.
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Quet (?), n. (Zoöl.) The common guillemot. [Prov. Eng.]
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Queue (?), n. [F. See .] (a) A tail-like appendage of hair; a pigtail. (b) A line of persons waiting anywhere.
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Queue, v. t. To fasten, as hair, in a queue.
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Quey (?), n. [Cf. Dan. qvie.] A heifer. [Scot.]
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Quib (?), n. [Cf. .] A quip; a gibe.
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Quibble (?), n. [Probably fr. quib, quip, but influenced by quillet, or quiddity.] 1. A shift or turn from the point in question; a trifling or evasive distinction; an evasion; a cavil.
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Quibbles have no place in the search after truth. I. Watts.
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2. A pun; a low conceit.
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Quibble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Quibbled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Quibbling (?).] 1. To evade the point in question by artifice, play upon words, caviling, or by raising any insignificant or impertinent question or point; to trifle in argument or discourse; to equivocate.
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2. To pun; to practice punning. Cudworth.
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Syn. -- To cavil; shuffle; equivocate; trifle.
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Quibbler (?), n. One who quibbles; a caviler; also, a punster.
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Quibblingly (?), adv. Triflingly; evasively.
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Quica (?), n. [From the native Brazilian name.] (Zoöl.) A small South American opossum (Didelphys quica), native of Guiana and Brazil. It feeds upon insects, small birds, and fruit.
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Quice (?), n. (Zoöl.) See .
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Quich (?), v. i. [Cf. .] To stir. [Obs.]
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He could not move nor quich at all. Spenser.
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Quichuan (?), a. Designating, or pertaining to, a linguistic stock of South American Indians, including the majority of the civilized tribes of the ancient Peruvian Empire with some wild tribes never subjugated by the Incas. Most of these Indians are short, but heavy and strong. They are brachycephalic and of remarkably low cranial capacity. Nevertheless, they represent one of the highest of native American civilizations, characterized by agricultural, military, and administrative skill rather than by science or literature, although they were adept potters, weavers, and goldsmiths, and preserved by the aid of the mnemonic quipu a body of legendary lore in part written down since the introduction of writing.
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Quick (?), a. [Compar. Quicker (?); superl. Quickest.] [As. cwic, cwicu, cwucu, cucu, living; akin to OS. quik, D. kwik, OHG. quec, chec, G. keck bold, lively, Icel. kvikr living, Goth. qius, Lith. qȳvas, Russ. zhivoi, L. vivus living, vivere to live, Gr. bios life, Skr. jīva living, jīv to live. Cf. , , , .] 1. Alive; living; animate; -- opposed to dead or inanimate.
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Not fully quyke, ne fully dead they were. Chaucer.
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The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. 2 Tim. iv. 1.
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Man is no star, but a quick coal
Of mortal fire. Herbert.
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☞ In this sense the word is nearly obsolete, except in some compounds, or in particular phrases.
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2. Characterized by life or liveliness; animated; sprightly; agile; brisk; ready. “ A quick wit.” Shak.
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3. Speedy; hasty; swift; not slow; as, be quick.
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Oft he her his charge of quick return
Repeated. Milton.
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4. Impatient; passionate; hasty; eager; eager; sharp; unceremonious; as, a quick temper.
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The bishop was somewhat quick with them, and signified that he was much offended. Latimer.
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5. Fresh; bracing; sharp; keen.
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The air is quick there,
And it pierces and sharpens the stomach. Shak.
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6. Sensitive; perceptive in a high degree; ready; as, a quick ear. “To have an open ear, a quick eye.” Shak.
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They say that women are so quick. Tennyson.
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7. Pregnant; with child. Shak.
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Coloq. Quick grass . (Bot.) See . -- Coloq. Quick match . See under . -- Coloq. Quick vein (Mining), a vein of ore which is productive, not barren. -- Coloq. Quick vinegar , vinegar made by allowing a weak solution of alcohol to trickle slowly over shavings or other porous material. -- Coloq. Quick water , quicksilver water. -- Coloq. Quick with child , pregnant with a living child.
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Syn. -- Speedy; expeditious; swift; rapid; hasty; prompt; ready; active; brisk; nimble; fleet; alert; agile; lively; sprightly.
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Quick (?), adv. In a quick manner; quickly; promptly; rapidly; with haste; speedily; without delay; as, run quick; get back quick.
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If we consider how very quick the actions of the mind are performed. Locke.
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Quick, n. 1. That which is quick, or alive; a living animal or plant; especially, the hawthorn, or other plants used in making a living hedge.
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The works . . . are curiously hedged with quick. Evelyn.
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2. The life; the mortal point; a vital part; a part susceptible of serious injury or keen feeling; the sensitive living flesh; the part of a finger or toe to which the nail is attached; the tender emotions; as, to cut a finger nail to the quick; to thrust a sword to the quick, to taunt one to the quick; -- used figuratively.
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This test nippeth, . . . this toucheth the quick. Latimer.
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How feebly and unlike themselves they reason when they come to the quick of the difference ! Fuller.
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3. (Bot.) Quitch grass. Tennyson.
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Quick, v. t. & i. [See .] To revive; to quicken; to be or become alive. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Quickbeam (?), n. [A. S. cwicbeám.] See .
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Quicken (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. quickened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Quickening.] [AS. cwician. See , a.] 1. To make alive; to vivify; to revive or resuscitate, as from death or an inanimate state; hence, to excite; to, stimulate; to incite.
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The mistress which I serve quickens what's dead. Shak.
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Like a fruitful garden without an hedge, that quickens the appetite to enjoy so tempting a prize. South.
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2. To make lively, active, or sprightly; to impart additional energy to; to stimulate; to make quick or rapid; to hasten; to accelerate; as, to quicken one's steps or thoughts; to quicken one's departure or speed.
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3. (Shipbuilding) To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make (a curve) sharper; as, to quicken the sheer, that is, to make its curve more pronounced.
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Syn. -- To revive; resuscitate; animate; reinvigorate; vivify; refresh; stimulate; sharpen; incite; hasten; accelerate; expedite; dispatch; speed.
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Quicken, v. i. 1. To come to life; to become alive; to become vivified or enlivened; hence, to exhibit signs of life; to move, as the fetus in the womb.
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The heart is the first part that quickens, and the last that dies. Ray.
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And keener lightnings quicken in her eye. Pope.
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When the pale and bloodless east began
To quicken to the sun. Tennyson.
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2. To move with rapidity or activity; to become accelerated; as, his pulse quickened.
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Quickener, n. One who, or that which, quickens.
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Quickening, n. 1. The act or process of making or of becoming quick.
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2. (Physiol.) The first motion of the fetus in the womb felt by the mother, occurring usually about the middle of the term of pregnancy. It has been popularly supposed to be due to the fetus becoming possessed of independent life.
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Quickens (?), n. (Bot.) Quitch grass.
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Quicken tree (?). [Probably from quick, and first applied to the aspen or some tree with quivering leaves; cf. G. quickenbaum, quizenbaum, quitschenbaum. Cf. .] (Bot.) The European rowan tree; -- called also quickbeam, and quickenbeam. See .
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Quickhatch (?), n. [From the American Indian name.] (Zoöl.) The wolverine.
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Quicklime (?), n. [See , a.] (Chem.) Calcium oxide; unslacked lime; -- so called because when wet it develops great heat. See 4th , 2.
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Quickly, adv. Speedily; with haste or celerity; soon; without delay; quick.
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Quickness, n. 1. The condition or quality of being quick or living; life. [Obs.]
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Touch it with thy celestial quickness. Herbert.
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2. Activity; briskness; especially, rapidity of motion; speed; celerity; as, quickness of wit.
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This deed . . . must send thee hence
With fiery quickness. Shak.
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His mind had, indeed, great quickness and vigor. Macaulay.
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3. Acuteness of perception; keen sensibility.
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Would not quickness of sensation be an inconvenience to an animal that must lie still ? Locke
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4. Sharpness; pungency of taste. Mortimer.
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Syn. -- Velocity; celerity; rapidity; speed; haste; expedition; promptness; dispatch; swiftness; nimbleness; fleetness; agility; briskness; liveliness; readiness; sagacity; shrewdness; shrewdness; sharpness; keenness.
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Quicksand (?), n. Sand easily moved or readily yielding to pressure; especially, a deep mass of loose or moving sand mixed with water, sometimes found at the mouth of a river or along some coasts, and very dangerous, from the difficulty of extricating a person who begins sinking into it.
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Life hath quicksands, -- Life hath snares! Longfellow.
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