Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun 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.
  • noun A hearing conducted by a judge or magistrate to determine damages when a defendant has defaulted.
  • noun A judicial inquiry into a specified matter, such as a person's mental condition.
  • noun An investigation or inquiry.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Inquiry; search; quest.
  • noun In law: A judicial inquiry, especially an inquiry held before a jury; specifically, a proceeding before a jury to determine the amount to be recovered in an action, when there is no trial in the ordinary sense, because the right to recover has been admitted; in common use, a coroner's inquest.
  • noun The jury itself.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare Inquiry; quest; search.
  • noun Judicial inquiry; official examination, esp. before a jury.
  • noun A body of men assembled under authority of law to inquire into any matter, 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.
  • noun The finding of the jury upon such inquiry.
  • noun an inquest held by a coroner to determine the cause of any violent, sudden, or mysterious death. See Coroner.
  • noun an inquiry made, by authority or direction of proper officer, into matters affecting the rights and interests of the crown or of the state.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A formal investigation, often held before a jury, especially one into the cause of a death.
  • noun The jury hearing such an inquiry, and the result of the inquiry.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an inquiry into the cause of an unexpected death

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[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.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French enqueste (Modern French enquête), from Vulgar Latin inquirere, or from Medieval Latin inquesta < in + Latin quaesita.

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Examples

  • At what they called the inquest your presence was surely not necessary!

    The Illustrious Prince 1906

  • After all, the inquest is often the only public forum in which contentious deaths such as those in custody are subjected to public scrutiny.

    Terrorism: 7/7 inquest proves value of a system of independent scrutiny Mark Townsend 2010

  • One factor for the Met's decision to hold the hearing before the inquest is that it could be less damaging for its reputation if Harwood appears at the inquest as a former officer.

    Ian Tomlinson death: G20 police officer to face dismissal before Christmas Vikram Dodd 2010

  • The inquest is expected to be enormously difficult for Harwood and the force, and will see him called to face questions in public about his conduct.

    Ian Tomlinson death: G20 police officer to face dismissal before Christmas Vikram Dodd 2010

  • His position has been carefully isolated as his various Lieutenants have, at last, been subjected to searching cross-examination instead of the toothless gumming meted out by the MSM over the years, something which has demonstrated the high standards of advocacy that are produced by our adversarial system of litigation, though, strictly speaking, an inquest is inquisitorial in nature.

    Archive 2008-02-10 2008

  • The Diana inquest is now estimated to cost the British taxpayer £6 million.

    Archive 2008-03-01 Not a sheep 2008

  • An inquest is now being carried out into the exact cause of death and what had happened to Mr Phyall, described as ‘vulnerable’, beforehand.

    2008 July 15 « Unambiguously Ambidextrous 2008

  • The Diana inquest is now estimated to cost the British taxpayer £6 million.

    Priorities? Not a sheep 2008

  • An inquest is now being carried out into the exact cause of death and what had happened to Mr Phyall, described as ‘vulnerable’, beforehand.

    Unamig News VII « Unambiguously Ambidextrous 2008

  • His position has been carefully isolated as his various Lieutenants have, at last, been subjected to searching cross-examination instead of the toothless gumming meted out by the MSM over the years, something which has demonstrated the high standards of advocacy that are produced by our adversarial system of litigation, though, strictly speaking, an inquest is inquisitorial in nature.

    You're Paying For This, So Enjoy It! 2008

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  • Holmes and Watson would often go to these and help their client.

    July 8, 2012

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