quaere

Q10U1A1E1R1E1
/ˈkwɪəɹi/

verb

To ask or query; used imperatively to introduce a question or signify doubt.

OriginLatin quaere →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

verbquaere (third-person singular simple present quaeres, present participle quaereing, simple past and past participle quaered)

present singular third person quaeres · participle present quaereing · participle past quaered · past quaered · alternative archaic quære

  1. otherwise archaiclawTo ask or query; used imperatively to introduce a question or signify doubt.

    Now, she cannot express her emotions fully: Quaere: will she feel them fully?

    1970, Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander
    1 more example

    Suppose then the cube and sphere placed on a table, and the blind man be made to see: quaere, whether by his sight, before he touched them, he could now distinguish and tell which is the globe, which the cube?

    1689, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding
nounquaere (plural quaeres)

plural quaeres · alternative archaic quære

  1. archaicA question or query.

    Had ten dozen of hornets stung him behind in so many places all at one time,—he could not have […] started half so much, as with one single quære of three words unseasonably popping in full upon him.

    1761, [Laurence Sterne], The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume III, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC

Origin

  1. Latinquaere
  2. Englishquaere

From Latin quaere, second-person singular present active imperative of quaerō (“seek, look for; ask”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with quaere

theoryqueryEriewearyeeriedrearycheeryleerytearydearyblearybeeryferiedearieeyrieveeryawearychaos theoryheariepeeriesmeary
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

query (some pronunciations)query (some pronunciations)
Cite this entry
APA

quaere. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quaere

MLA

“quaere.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quaere. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quaere,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quaere.

Source: quaere on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.