In"quest (?), n. [OE. enqueste, OF. enqueste, F. enquete, LL. inquesta, for inquisita, fr. L. inquisitus, p.p. of inquirere. See Inquire.]
1.
Inquiry; quest; search.
[R.]
Spenser.
The laborious and vexatious inquest that the soul must make after science.
South.
2. Law (a)
Judicial inquiry; official examination, esp. before a jury; as, a coroner's inquest in case of a sudden death.
(b)
A body of men assembled under authority of law to inquire into any matterm civil or criminal, particularly any case of violent or sudden death; a jury, particularly a coroner's jury. The grand jury is sometimes called the grand inquest. See under Grand.
(c)
The finding of the jury upon such inquiry.
Coroner's inquest, an inquest held by a coroner to determine the cause of any violent, sudden, or mysterious death. See Coroner. -- Inquest of office, an inquiry made, by authority or direction of proper officer, into matters affecting the rights and interests of the crown or of the state.
Craig. Bouvier.
© Webster 1913.