Etymograph

English

request

Request comes from Old French requeste, from Vulgar Latin *requaesita, from Latin requīsītus ‘required’, past participle of requīrō ‘to ask for’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to seek’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErequīrō‘to seek, ask for’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErequīsītusas requīsīta‘required, needed’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*requaesitareconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400requeste‘request; demand’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500request‘a request or petition’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to seek’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErequīrō‘to seek, ask for’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErequīsītusas requīsīta‘required, needed’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*requaesitareconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400requeste‘request; demand’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500request‘a request or petition’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597same form

Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wiues of Windsor: “I will marry her, sir, at your request.”

The story

From Middle English request, from Old French requeste (French requête), from Vulgar Latin *requaesita, from Latin requīsīta, feminine of requīsītus (‘requested, demanded’), past participle of requīrō (‘require, ask’), composed of re- + quaerō (‘to seek, look for’), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (‘to acquire’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Linked words

through Latin requīsītus ‘required, needed’

requisite

Today it means

verb To ask for (something).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin quaerō / request

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