Where does “inquisition” come from?
Inquisition comes from Old French inquisicion, from Latin inquisitio, derived from Latin inquirere meaning to inquire or investigate, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne.
inquisition (English): an investigation or inquiry into the truth of...
Definitions
- an investigation or inquiry into the truth of...
Ancestry of “inquisition”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | inquisicion | — |
| 2 | Latin | inquisitio | search, inquiry, examination, investigation;... |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |