| 释义 |
▪ I. inquest, n.|ˈɪnkwɛst|
Forms: 3 anqueste, 4–5 enqueste, 5–7 enquest, 5– inquest, (6 Sc. -queist).
[a. OF. enqueste = Pr. enquesta, It. inchiesta, Romanic and med.L. inquesta, n. from fem. pa. pple. of Com. Romanic *inquērĕre (L. inquīrĕre), It. inchierere, inchiedere, Pr. enquerre, enquerer, OF. enquerre, mod.F. enquérir to inquire; analogous to ns. in -ata, -ada, -ee: see -ade. The spelling with in-, though frequent in the 17th c., was not finally established until the 18th c. The pronunciation inˈquest, whence the aphetic 'quest, came down to the end of the 17th c.]
1. a. A legal or judicial inquiry to ascertain or decide a matter of fact, esp. one made by a jury in a civil or criminal case. Formerly, a general term for all formal or official inquiries into matters of public or state interest, as fixing of prices, valuation of property with reference to assessments, etc. Now mostly = ‘coroner's inquest’ (see coroner 1).
Great Inquest, an appellation sometimes given to the Domesday inquiry and valuation.
αc1290Beket 387 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 117 Þoru an-queste [v.r. enqueste] he let þoruȝ þe contreies an-quere Hov muche ech Man scholde paiȝe. c1325Poem times Edw. II (Percy) lxx, Other wit[h] a fals enquest Hang him by the throte. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 57 Clerkes..Sholde noþer swynke ne swete ne swere at enquestes. c1400Rom. Rose 6977 Many tymes I make enquestes..To dele with other mennes thing, That is to me a gret lykyng. 1598Kitchin Courts Leet (1675) 226 Enquest shall be by custom of the Realm, between party and party. 1641Termes de la Ley 137 b, Enquest is that inquiry which is made by Jurors in all causes civill or criminall touching the matter in fact. And such inquirie is either of office or at the mise of the parties. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. ii. §4 He was indicted upon that Certificat in the County of Middlesex by the common Jury of enquest in the Kings-Bench for that County.
β1483Cath. Angl. 196/2 An Inqwest, Inquesicio, duodena. 1614Selden Titles Hon. 320 If any were distrain'd to bee made Knight, hauing neither in Fee, nor for life, twentie pounds reuenue, and the same were prou'd..by inquest, he should be discharg'd. 1660R. Coke Power & Subj. 193 Indicted of such offences by solemn inquest of lawful men in the Kings Court. 1714Fr. Bk. of Rates 10 We have caused a general Inquest to be made into all the Tolls which are raised upon all the Rivers in Our Kingdom. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) I. i. 42 Arbitrary inquests for offences and illegal modes of punishment. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. iii, There being nothing more to be done until the inquest was held next day. 1874Stubbs Const. Hist. I. ix. 275 The great inquest of all, the Domesday survey. 1882M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal III. iii. 44 You had better go and watch the inquest, and make yourself useful to the coroner.
b. † Court of Inquest (see quot. 1706). † Halifax inquest, a summary trial. inquest of office, (a) (see quot. 1768); (b) ‘loosely used of an inquiry into a person's right to the possession of an office held by the government to be forfeited’ (U.S.).
1597–8Bp. Hall Sat. iv. i. 18 Some more strait-lac'd Iuror of the rest, Impannel'd of an Haly-Fax inquest. 1706Phillips, The Court of Inquest, at Guild-hall, London, a particular Court that takes Cognizance of and determines all Complaints preferred for Debt by one Citizen against another under the sum of Forty Shillings. 1768Blackstone Comm. III. xvii. 258 Inquisition or inquest of office..is an enquiry made by the king's officer..or by commissioners specially appointed, concerning any matter that intitles the king to the possession of lands or tenements, goods or chattels. 1876Digby Real Prop. x. §3 (1). 390 The practice is for the Crown to institute an ‘inquest of office’, usually before commissioners appointed for the purpose, for the purpose of determining whether the tenant died without leaving an heir. 1882H. Adams J. Randolph vi. 133 The proceeding was a mere inquest of office under a judicial form.
c. In figurative applications. great, last, general inquest, the last Judgement.
c1315Shoreham 94 Al desceyved schel he be, Wanne cometh the grete enqueste. 1659Gentl. Calling (1696) 80 If now we proceed to the last part of the Rich man's Duty..we may without an Augur divine the return of that Inquest. 1669Penn No Cross i. iv. §21 In the solemn and general Inquest upon the World. 1784Cowper Task ii. 135 It burns down to earth, And in the furious inquest that it makes On God's behalf, lays waste his fairest works. 1885S. Cox Expos. Ser. i. ix. 115 The searching inquest of the Judge eternal.
2. a. The body of men appointed to hold a legal inquiry; a jury; now esp. a coroner's jury.
c1305Pilate 196 in E.E. Poems (1862) 116 Þenqueste vpe him seide þat he destruyde oure lawe..And ic..Moste nede ȝyue þe dom whan þenqueste sede. 1494Fabyan Chron. vii. 341 The mayre, aldremen, and shryuys, with the sayde enqueste and foure men of euery warde, were chargyd to appere at Westmynster. 1503Presentm. Juries in Surtees Misc. (1888) 30 In the presens of all the hole inquest, & many oþer. 1574tr. Littleton's Tenures 79 a, In suche case where the enquest may say their verdit at large. 1623Gouge Serm. Extent God's Provid. §15 The Coroner and his Inquest comming to view the bodies, found remaining but 63. 1809Bawdwen Domesday Bk. 623 The inquest say that Gerneber had thirteen acres of wood, and 25 acres of arable land in Irnham. 1863H. Cox Instit. ii. iii. 345 Where the object is inquiry and information only, the jury is sometimes called an Inquest.
b. grand inqest or great inquest = grand jury; also transf.; grand (or great) inquest of the nation, applied to the House of Commons.
1467Ordin. Worcester xi. in Eng. Gilds 382 That the price of ale be sessed at euery lawday by the gret enquest. Ibid. xxii. 385 The grete enquest shalle provide..wheþer the pageant shuld go that yere or no. 1629Lynde Via Tuta 241, I will giue another summons to the prime men, euen of their grand Inquest, who without partiality, will testifie on our behalfe. 1660Trial Regic. 9 Gentlemen, You are the Grand Inquest for the Body of this County of Middlesex. [1671F. Phillips Reg. Necess. 438 The lower house or Representative of the Commons are but as a Court of grand Enquest to exhibit the grievances of the Nation and the People.] 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. cxiv, The House of Commons (who are the grand Inquest of the Kingdom). 1752J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 193 Adjournment of the Grand Jury. Gentlemen of the Grand Inquest, the Court dismisses you for this Time. 1769Blackstone Comm. IV. xix. 256 An impeachment before the lords by the commons of Great Britain, in parliament, is..a presentment to the most high and supreme court of criminal jurisdiction by the most solemn grand inquest of the whole kingdom. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxii. IV. 748 If he is guilty of partiality, he may be called to account by the great inquest of the nation. 1903Daily Chron. 3 July 7/1 The First Lord of the Admiralty..described it as a grand inquest of the nation.
3. In general sense.
†a. An inquiry or question; a questioning.
c1340Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1056 For-þy, sir, þis enquest I require yow here, Þat ȝe me telle with trawþe, if euer ȝe tale herde Of þe grene chapel. 1671J. Flavel Fount. of Life ii. 32 The grand Inquest of Conscience is: Is God satisfied? 1853De Quincey Autobiog. Sk. Wks. I. 21, I wearied the heavens with my inquest of beseeching looks.
†b. A search or investigation in order to find something; a pursuit; a research. In early use, esp., a knightly expedition in pursuit of something or in quest of adventures; a quest. Const. for (of, after). Obs.
1470–85Malory Arthur ix. ii. heading, How a damoysel came in to the courte, & desyred a knyght to take on hym an enquest. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn vi. 25 He founde the foot of the hors of hym for whom he wente in enqueste. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. ii. 4 To aske..what uncouth wind Brought her into those partes, and what inquest Made her dissemble her disguised kind? 1621Quarles Div. Poems, Esther (1638) 110 Let strict Inquest and carefull Inquisition In all the Realme be made..For Comely Virgins, beautifull and young. 1651Walton Life Wotton in Reliq. b vij, The City and University were both in a perplext Enquest of the Thieves. c1667South Serm. (1737) I. vi. 225 This is the laborious and vexatious inquest, that the soul must make after science.
c. Inquiry or investigation (into something). Now used colloq., a discussion or investigation of a game, event, etc., after it has taken place.
1625Gill Sacr. Philos. iv. 57 What can the soule and understanding bee busied about, but onely in the enquirie of that trueth and wisedome which God hath manifested in the creature? But whether this inquest shall be immediately after the soules departure from the body, or at the time of restitution..I cannot define. 1645Quarles Sol. Recant. vii. xxvii, By strict enquest into their sev'rall ways. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 241 By the Cost and Inquest of this Pious Benefactor, Sweeter Waters are at this time produced. 1837Emerson Amer. Scholar Wks. (Bohn) II. 178 Let it receive from another mind its truth..without periods of solitude, inquest, and self recovery, and a fatal disservice is done. 1932News Chron. 29 Feb. 8/5 She never in any case holds inquests. You can't make the next shot [in Golf] good by worrying over the last. 1934Punch 3 Jan. 22/3 My intention was to wait for the inevitable inquest and then say..‘I don't play much bridge you know.’ 1967J. Symons Man who killed Himself i. i. 12 ‘What made you double that heart call?’ Clare asked... Mr. Payne wagged a finger. ‘Now now. No inquests.’ 1970Times 20 Apr. 1/5 The Apollo 13 astronauts..tonight left Hawaii to return to Houston where they will soon begin the long inquest into the spacecraft failure.
4. attrib. or Comb., as inquest jury, a jury of inquiry: see inquiry 3; † inquest-man, a member of a wardmote inquest (of the city of London); inquest-room, the room in which a coroner's inquest is held.
1766Entick London IV. 17 Fourteen inquest-men. Ibid. 373 This ward..has 20 wardmote inquest-men. 1825J. Newell An Enquiry, etc. 31 Called in the City of London the Inquest Jury, and in the City of Westminster Leet and Annoyance Jury: and which Inquest Jury for its wisdom, usefulness, importance and power to a certain extent is not surpassed by any other. 1845Mrs. Norton Child of Islands (1846) 109 We to the Inquest-Room, to hear in vain, Description of the strong convulsive throes..By which a struggling life gets rid at last of pain.
▪ II. † inˈquest, pa. pple. Sc. Obs. rare—1.
[ad. med.L. inquest-us for L. inquīsītus: see prec. Used as pa. pple. of inquere, inquire; cf. conquest pa. pple.]
Inquired, questioned.
1566Bp. of Ross in Keith Hist. Ch. Scot. App. (1734) 135 Hir Majestie maid ane Depesche befoir sche fell seik, bot at this present may nocht be inquest thairof. |