Etymograph

English

conquest

Conquest comes from Latin conquirō ‘to seek for, hunt up, search out eagerly or…’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ‘to acquire’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeh₂-1‘to acquire’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷaizō1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō2‘to seek, look for’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconquirō2‘to seek for, hunt up, search out eagerly or carefully, go in quest of’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconquīsītus2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400conqueste2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conquest2‘a conquest or invasion’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599conquest2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin quaero, which cites LIV
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English conquest
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home?”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeh₂-Wiktionary, Latin quaero, which cites LIV‘to acquire’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷaizōWiktionary, Latin quaero, which cites LIVuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerōWiktionary, English conquest‘to seek, look for’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconquirōWiktionary, English conquest‘to seek for, hunt up, search out eagerly or carefully, go in quest of’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconquīsītusWiktionary, English conquest
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400conquesteWiktionary, English conquest
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conquestWiktionary, English conquest‘a conquest or invasion’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599conquestWiktionary, English conquest. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home?”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ‘to acquire’

question, 13 more

through Latin quaerō ‘to seek, look for’

acquisition, inquiry, exquisite, query, requisite, enquiry, inquire, inquisition, 14 more

Today it means

noun An act or instance of achieving victory through combat; the subjugation of an enemy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “conquest”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin quaero. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- / conquest

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