Lewis & Short

quaero (old orthogr. QVAIRO, Epitaphs of the Scipios, 6; for the original form and etym. quaeso, ĕre, v. quaeso), sīvi or sĭi, sītum, 3, v. a., to seek.

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen.: aliquem, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 43 Vahl.); Plaut. Mil. 2, 3, 3: te ipsum quaerebam, Ter. Heaut. 4, 8, 3: escam in sterquilinio, Phaedr. 3, 12 init.
    2. B. In partic.
      1. 1. To seek to get or procure, to seek or search for a thing, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 38: rem mercaturis faciendis, Cic. Par. 6, 2, 46.
        Absol.: contrivi in quaerendo vitam atque aetatem meam, Ter. Ad. 5, 4, 15; 5, 3, 27; Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 57; id. A. P. 170.
        1. b. Transf., to get, procure, obtain, acquire a thing: uxores liberorum quaerendorum causā ducere, Suet. Caes. 52: liberorum quaerundorum causā ei uxor data est, Plaut. Capt. 4, 2, 109; cf.: quaerunt litterae hae sibi liberos, id. Ps. 1, 1, 21.
      2. 2. To seek for something missing, to miss: Siciliam in uberrimā Siciliae parte, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 18, § 47: optatos Tyndaridas, Prop. 1, 17, 18: Phoebi comam, Tib. 2, 3, 20: amnes, Stat. Th. 4, 703.
      3. 3. To ask, desire, with ut and subj.: quaeris ut suscipiam cogitationem quidnam istis agendum putem, Cic. Att. 14, 20, 4.
  2. II. Trop.
    1. A. In gen., to seek, i. e. to think over, meditate, aim at, plan a thing: dum id quaero, tibi qui filium restituerem, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 83: quonam modo maxime ulti sanguinem nostrum pereamus, Sall. C. 33,5: fugam, Cic. Att. 7, 17, 1; id. Mur. 37, 80: sibi remedium ad rem aliquam, id. Clu. 9, 27: de gratiā quid significares, mecum ipse quaerebam, id. Att. 9, 11, A, 1.
      With inf.: tristitiae causam si quis cognoscere quaerit, seeks, strives, endeavors, Ov. Tr. 5, 4, 7; id. Am. 1, 8, 51; Hor. C. 3, 4, 39; id. Ep. 1, 1, 2 al.
    2. B. In partic.
      1. 1. To look for, seek to gain any thing; to get, acquire, obtain, procure: laudem sibi, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 74: salutem alicui malo, id. Ad. 3, 2, 2: negabant ullā aliā in re nisi in naturā quaerendum esse illud summum bonum, Cic. Ac. 1, 5, 19: pudentem exitum suae impudentiae, id. Verr. 2, 1, 1, § 2: invidiam in aliquem, id. Rab. Post. 17, 46.
      2. 2. Of inanim. and abstr. subjects, to demand, need, require, = requirere: quod cujusquam oratoris eloquentiam quaereret, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 10, § 29: lites ex limitibus judicem quaerant, Varr. R. R. 1, 15, 1: bellum dictatoriam majestatem quaesivisset, Liv. 8, 30: quaerit Boeotia Dircen, Ov. M. 2, 239.
      3. 3. To seek to learn from any one; to ask, inquire, interrogate (cf.: interrogo, percontor).
          1. (α) With ab: cum ab iis saepius quaereret, made inquiries, Caes. B. G. 1, 32: quaero abs te nunc, Hortensi, cum, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 83, § 191: quaesivit a medicis, quemadmodum se haberet, Nep. Dion, 2, 4: a quo cum quaesisset, quo se deduci vellet, id. Epam. 4, 5; cf. Cic. N. D. 1, 22, 60.
          2. (β) With de: quaerebat paulo ante de me, quid, etc., Cic. Pis. 9, 18: de te ipso quaero, Vatini, utrum, etc., id. Vatin. 4, 10: quaero de te, arbitrerisne, etc., Liv. 4, 40: cura tibi de quo quaerere nulla fuit, Ov. P. 4, 3, 18.
          3. (γ) With ex: quaesivi ex Phaniā, quam in partem provinciae putaret, etc., Cic. Fam. 3, 6, 1: quaerit ex solo ea, quae, etc., Caes. B. G. 1, 18.
          4. (δ) With a rel.-clause: ille baro te putabat quaesiturum, unum caelum esset an innumerabilia, Cic. Fam. 9, 26, 3: natura fieret laudabile carmen, an arte, Quaesitum est, Hor. A. P. 409: quaeritur inter medicos, cujus generis aquae sint utilissimae, Plin. 31, 3, 21, § 31.
      4. 4. To desire,
        1. a. With inf. (post-Aug.): e monte aliquo in alium transilire quaerens, Plin. 8, 53, 79, § 214: qui mutare sedes quaerebant, Tac. G. 2.
        2. b. Transf., of animals, plants, etc., to desire, prefer, seek: salictum et harundinetum … umidum locum quaerunt, Varr. R. R. 1, 23, 5: glires aridum locum quaerunt, id. ib. 3, 15, 2; Col. 1, praef. § 26: lupinum quaerit maxime sabulosa, Plin. 18, 14, 36, § 134; so of the soil: ager aquosus plus stercoris quaerit, demands, Pall. 1, 6, 15.
      5. 5. To examine or inquire into judicially, to investigate, institute an investigation; with acc. (rare): hunc abduce, vinci, rem quaere, Ter. Ad. 3 (4), 36: non dubitabat Minucius, quin iste (Verres) illo die rem illam quaesiturus non esset, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 29, § 72.
        With de and abl. (class.; cf. Krebs, Autibarb. p. 962 sq.): de pecuniis repetundis, Cic. Verr. 1, 9, 27: de morte alicujus, id. Rosc. Am. 41, 119: de servo in dominum, to question by torture, put to the rack, id. Mil. 22, 59: aliquid per tormenta, Suet. Tib. 58: legibus, to investigate according to the laws, impartially, Plin. Ep. 5, 21, 3.
        1. b. Transf.: si quaeris, si quaerimus (prop., if we, or you, look well into the matter; if we, or you, would know the truth), to say the truth, in fact, to speak honestly: omnino, si quaeris, ludi apparatissimi, Cic. Fam. 7, 1, 2: at sunt morosi, et anxii, et difficiles senes: si quaerimus, etiam avari, id. Sen. 18, 65: si quaeritis, id. de Or. 2, 62, 254; so, too, si verum quaeris, id. Fam. 12, 8, 1: si verum quaeritis, id. de Or. 2, 34, 146: si verum quaerimus, id. Tusc. 2, 23, 55: noli quaerere or quid quaeris? in short, in one word: noli quaerere: ita mihi pulcher hic dies visus est, id. Fam. 4, 4, 3: quid quaeris? biduo factus est mihi familiaris, id. ib. 3, 1, 2.
          Hence, quaesītus, a, um, P. a., sought out.
    1. A. In a good sense, select, special, extraordinary (mostly post-Aug.): epulae quaesitissumae, Sall. ap. Macr. S. 2, 9, 9 (Sall. H. 2, 23, 4 Dietsch); comp.: leges quaesitiores (opp. simplices), Tac. A. 3, 26: quaesitior adulatio, id. ib. 3, 57.
      Sup.: quaesitissimi honores, Tac. A. 2, 53.
    2. B. In a bad sense (opp. to what is natural), far-fetched, studied, affected, assumed (class.): vitabit etiam quaesita nec ex tempore ficta, sed domo allata, quae plerumque sunt frigida, Cic. Or. 26, 89: ut numerus non quaesitus, sed ipse secutus esse videatur, id. ib. 65, 219: comitas, Tac. A. 6, 50: asperitas, id. ib. 5, 3.
    3. C. Subst.: quaesītum, i, n.
      1. 1. A question (poet.): accipe quaesiti causam, Ov. M. 4, 793; id. F. 1, 278; Hor. S. 2, 6, 82.
      2. 2. A question as a rhetorical figure, = πύσμα, Mart. Cap. 5, § 524.