quest

The root quest comes from Latin quaerere, 'to seek, to ask,' and its noun quaestiō, 'a seeking, an inquiry.' Picture a Roman official sent out to seek the facts of a case — that act of searching for an answer is the seed of the whole family.

The most direct descendant is question itself: literally 'a thing sought.' When you ask a question, you are seeking information. Add the prefix in- (into) and you get inquire — to seek INTO a matter — and its noun inquiry, the formal seeking-into we call an investigation. The adjective inquisitive describes someone whose nature is to keep seeking, keep asking — curious, sometimes nosily so.

From 'asking' it is a short step to 'doubting.' To question a claim is to ask whether it holds up; questionable means 'open to being asked about,' i.e. doubtful, dodgy. Pile on the negatives and you reach unquestionable (cannot be doubted) and unquestioning (accepting without asking) — two words that point in opposite directions from the same idea of asking.

Two members wander further from 'seek' and reward a second look. exquisite is ex- (out) + the quaerere stem: originally 'carefully sought out,' something searched for so thoroughly that it is choice, refined, beautiful. perquisite (the formal word behind the casual 'perk') is per- (thoroughly) + quaerere: something thoroughly sought after and obtained — an extra benefit beyond your basic pay.

The spelling shifts between quest-, quir-, quis-, and quisit- (question, inquire, inquisitive, exquisite), but the throughline never changes: every one of these words is about seeking — for information, for truth, for something fine, for an answer.