n. 1. Law a. An investigation conducted by a coroner, sometimes with the aid of a jury, into the cause of death of a person when the cause may be criminal. b. A hearing conducted by a judge or magistrate to determine damages when a defendant has defaulted. c. A judicial inquiry into a specified matter, such as a person's mental condition. 2. An investigation or inquiry: "In his inquest into the earliest days of Rome he had to confront the question of the relation between history and myth" (Robert Ackerman). [Middle English enqueste, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *inquaesīta, thing inquired into, alteration of Latin inquīsīta, feminine past participle of inquīrere, to inquire into; see INQUIRE.] |
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