Where does “conqueror” come from?
Conqueror comes from Middle English conquerour, from Old French conquereor, from Old French conquerre, from Latin conquaerere, formed from the prefix con- meaning "together" and quaerere meaning "to seek."
conqueror (English): Someone who conquers
Ancestry of “conqueror”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | conquerour | conqueror |
| 2 | Old French | conquereor | — |
| 3 | Old French | conquerre | to conquer; to defeat |
| 4 | Latin | conquaerere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 5 | Latin | quaerere | present active infinitive of quaerō;... |
| 6 | Latin | quaero | I seek, look for; I ask, question, inquire,... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kʷaizeō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷeh₂- | to acquire |