▪ I. conquest, n.
(ˈkɒŋkwɛst)
Also 3–5 conqueste.
[Represents two OF. words: (1) conquest (now conquêt) m.:—L. type *conquæstum (cf. Pr. conquist, It. conquisto), med.L. conquestum, -quistum, for L. conquīsītum, neuter of pa. pple. of conquīrĕre (see conquer); (2) OF. conqueste (now conquête) fem. = Pr. conquesta, Sp., It., med.L. conquesta, -quista, fem. n. from the pa. pple. (parallel to ns. in -ata, -ade, -ée). The latter of these expressed the action, the former the proceeds of acquiring or conquering. Cf. acquest, OF. aquest, but inquest, request, OF. enqueste, requeste. Conquêt, conquête are still distinct in F., but in Eng., through loss of final -e and of grammatical gender, the two forms ran together at an early date.
The original sense in med.L. and F. was ‘acquisition, esp. as the result of effort’; including getting by force of arms as well as by other means. Hence two lines of development: first, with the feudal jurists ‘personal acquisition of estate, as opposed to inheritance’, without specific reference to the mode, whether by force of arms, by grant, or (in later times) by money, called purchase in English Law; secondly, ‘acquisition by force of arms, military conquest’. The latter of these is by far the earlier in English, and has always been (with its transferred uses) the only popular sense. The general sense of acquisition and esp. the legal sense as opposed to inheritance, is chiefly Scotch and prominent in Scotch law.]
I. Conquest by war or combat.
1. The action of gaining by force of arms; acquisition by war; subjugation of a country, etc. [OF. conqueste.]
| c 1325 Coer de L. 6 It is ful god to here in jeste Off his prowesse and hys conqueste. c 1330 [see conquer 2]. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 51 Seuentene ȝere was he [Knoute] kyng þorgh conquest & desceit. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 26 Qwene that the kynge Arthur by conqueste hade wonnyne Castelles and kyngdoms, and contreez many. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vi. 18 Þe sowdan es lord of fiue kyngdomes, whilk he has geten by conquest. c 1456 Lydg. Verses on Kings of Eng. x. 4 in Hist. Collect. Camd. Soc. (1876) 49 This myghty Wylliam Duke of Normandye..Made kynge by conqueste of Brutys Albyon. 1555 Eden (title), Decades of the newe worlde or west India, Conteynyng the nauigations and conquestes of the Spanyardes. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. Concl. 391 Conquest..is the Acquiring of the Right of Soveraignty by Victory. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 225 Most conquests have gone from north to south. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 674 They accompanied our soldiers in their conquests, and acquired lands in America. |
b. with of and obj.
| 1384 Chaucer L.G.W. 1298 (Dido) To the conqueste of ytayle My destany is soone for to sayle. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 85 Kinges been worshipped..for conquestes of landes & regions. c 1477 Caxton Jason Prol., The historie of Iason, towchyng the conqueste of the golden flese. 1695 Enq. Anc. Const. England 6 Does not..conquest of a nation by arms give the conqueror a power from God to rule over that people? 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India III. 33 The easy conquest of Arakan, and the subjugation of Manipur. |
c. transf. and fig.; esp. the gaining or captivating of the favour, affections, or hand of another.
| 1595 Shakes. John iii. i. 290 Better conquest neuer canst thou make, Then arme thy constant and thy nobler parts Against these giddy loose suggestions. 1611 Beaum. & Fl. King & no K. i. i, Nature did her wrong, To print continual conquest on her cheeks, And make no man worthy for her to take. 1831 Lytton Godolphin 38 Constance, dressed for conquest, sat alone in her dressing-room. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Wealth Wks. (Bohn) II. 76 When mean gain has arrived at the conquest of letters and arts. 1887 J. Knight in Dict. Nat. Biog. IX. 355/2 The conquest of the marquis was..soon effected, and the pair were married in Paris in 1645. |
2. The action of overcoming or vanquishing; gaining of victory. Also fig.
| c 1315 Shoreham 148 Nys gryt stryf wythoute queade, And ther conqueste ys, stryf ys neade, And som y-schent. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 311 Where is now your sourquydrye & your conquestes. 1485 Caxton Pref. Malory's Morte Arthur 2 b, The fyfthe book treateth of the conqueste of Lucius themperour [by Arthur]. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 208 b, His victory wherin he ouercame the deuyl was moost perfyte triumph and conquest. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. ii. 10, I must yeeld my body to the Earth, And by my fall, the conquest to my foe. 1613 R. C. Table Alph. ed. 3, Conquest, victory. 1789 Belsham Ess. I. xii. 223 The conquest of difficulties is never a source of pleasure. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles iv. xx, Amid the pealing conquest-cry. |
b. Attributed to the conquered: The condition of being conquered.
| 1677 Gilpin Dæmonol. (1867) 471 But though they may be more troubled, yet they may be furthest from conquest. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 640 Having shifted ev'ry Form to scape, Convinc'd of Conquest, he resum'd his Shape [victus in sese redit]. |
3. the Conquest or Norman Conquest: the acquisition of the crown of England by William, Duke of Normandy, in 1066.
| [1327 Murimuth Chron., Anno Domini mcccxxvii..et regis Edwardi tertii a conquæstu primo.] 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 14 Kyng Edward þe thridde after þe conquest. 1428 in Surtees Misc. (1890) 3 In þe yer of þe regne of Kyng Henre Sext after þe Conqueste fyft. 1589 Nashe Wks. (ed. Grosart) I. 50 Some men spring from the coffer, not from the Conquest. 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 655 Swaine was Lord in the Conquest time. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. (1843) 4/1 A family of an ancient extraction, even from the time of the conquest. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. 3 As a conquest, compared with earlier and with later conquests, the Norman Conquest of England holds a middle place between the two classes. |
4. That which is acquired by force of arms; a possession or acquisition made in war; a conquered country, etc.: now restricted to territorial acquisitions, formerly also including booty. [OF. conquest.]
| a 1300 Cursor M 2540 (Cott.) O þair conquest he tok þe tend. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 27 Alisaundre..To knightes..after that they have deserved Yaf the conquestes, that he wanne. a 1500 Chaucer's Dreme 934 The lord..said he would within that yle Be lord and sire..And called it there his new conquest. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. i. 37 Wherefore reioyce? What Conquest brings he home? What Tributaries follow him to Rome? 1679 Penn Addr. Prot. i. viii. (1692) 36 They soon became the Conquest of the Greeks. 1692 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) II. 633 Orders are issued for all young men in the new conquests capable of bearing arms, to list themselves in the French service. 1829 Southey Sir T. More I. 342 No person in Portugal or its conquests should make use of the instrument. 1874 Green Short Hist. v. 224 His new conquest of Calais remained a part of the possessions of the English crown. |
b. transf. and fig., said esp. of a person whose favour or affections have been won by art.
| a 1631 Donne Poems (1650) 57 But thou wilt lose the stile of conquerour, If I, thy conquest, perish by thy hate. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 306 ¶2 To resign Conquests is a Task as difficult in a Beauty as an Hero. 1771 Junius Lett. lix. 307 Perhaps he found her at first too easy a conquest. |
5. Phr. to make (win) a conquest. Also to make a conquest of: to reduce to a conquered position, to conquer.
| 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 93 After this Alexander made grett conquestis. 1570 R. Edwards Damon & P. in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 102, I joy as much as he that hath a conquest won. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 1767 Shall rotten death make conquest of the stronger And leave the faltering feeble souls alive. 1608 ― Per. i. iv. 69 And make a conquest of unhappy me. 1712 Swift Let. Eng. Tongue Wks. 1755 II. i. 186 Till we are invaded and made a conquest by some other states. 1838 Lytton Alice 21 Which at once made a conquest of Evelyn's heart. 1874 Bancroft Footpr. Time i. 61 They never made permanent conquests in that direction. |
II. Conquest of property, etc. Sc.
6. Sc. Law. a. The personal acquisition of real property otherwise than by inheritance. b. Real estate so acquired, as opposed to heritage (the distinction as it affected the Law of Succession was abolished in 1874); hence fee, heir, succession of conquest.
| [1198–9 Pipe Roll 10 Rich. I (Entry of fine made 30 Hen. II, 1184) in Madox Form. Angl. 217 Et de primo conquestu vel de escaeta de hereditate ipsarum prædictarum B. et M. a quocunque illud accipient prædicti G. et B. uxor ejus..dabunt, etc.] |
| ? c 1150 Leges 4 Burg. xlii. (Sc. Acts I. 340) Terram quam habet de conquestu suo [? 15th c. transl. The landis that he has of conquest]. ? a 1300 Reg. Maj. iv. xlii (ibid. I. 369) Quia conquestus terrarum..debet gradatim ascendere et hereditas gradatim descendere. [1375 see conquese]. 1425 Wyntoun Chron. viii. ii. 181 For he hys sowne wes mydlest He gawe [hym] tharefor hys conqwest. c 1583 Sir J. Balfour Practicks 162 (Jam.) Gif ony man hes sum landis pertening to him as heritage, and some uther landis as conqueist. a 1608 Craig Jus Feudale ii. xv. §10 Nos conquæ stum dicimus, Angli et Normanni pourches. 1681 Stair Inst. iii. iv. 33 The immediate elder brother succeeding in conquest and the immediate younger in heritage. 1861 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 219 Where the deceased has died without lawful issue..heritage descends to the immediate younger brother of deceased, but conquest ascends to the immediate elder brother. 1874 Act 37 & 38 Vict. c. 94 §37 The distinction between fees of conquest and fees of heritage is hereby abolished. |
c. conquest of marriage: property acquired during wedlock, and provided for in the marriage contract. (Cf. Littré ‘Conquêt, acquêt fait durant la communauté des époux’.)
| 1861 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 219 A subject purchased with money acquired by industry or economy is conquest in this sense; but land or any other subject purchased with borrowed money is not conquest of the marriage, except in so far as..of greater value than the price paid for it. |
† 7. gen. Acquisition, gain, possession gained. Chiefly Sc. (exc. where fig. from 1). Obs.
| 1500–20 Dunbar ‘Schir, ȝit remembir’ vii, Quhen seruit is all vdir man..Na thing I get, na conquest than. 1556 Lauder Dewties of Kyngis 264 Wrang Conquest maks myscheuous end. 1570 Levins Manip. 92/13 A Conquest, acquisitio. 1603 Jas. I in S. R. Gardiner Hist. Eng. (1884) I. 91 How happy I think myself by the conquest of so faithful and so wise a counsellor. |
III. Comb.
| 1814 [see 2]. 1818 Shelley Euganean Hills 122 With thy conquest-branded brow Stooping to the slave of slaves From thy throne. |
Add: [I.] [2.] c. Mountaineering. The successful ascent of a mountain, esp. one previously unclimbed.
| 1902 Outing May 207 (heading) The conquest of Assiniboine. 1913 B. Browne (title) Conquest of Mount McKinley: the story of three expeditions. 1964 A. L. Kopit in Mademoiselle Nov. 159 (title) The conquest of Everest: a divertissement. 1980 Christian Science Monitor 17 Mar. b3/3 The story of Edward Whymper's conquest of this great mountain was known world wide. 1986 Los Angeles Times 15 May i. 1/6 In the South Asian context..far more than the conquest of a mountain occurred that day. |
▪ II. † conquest, v. Obs.
(stress var.)
[a. OF. conqueste-r (still in Cotgr.):—late L. type *conquæstāre, from conquæsītāre; also OF. conquister, -quiter, cf. It. conquistare, Sp. and Pg. conquistar, med.L. conquæst-, conquistāre:—L. type *conquīsītāre, freq. of conquīrĕre: see conquer, and cf. acquist v.]
1. trans. To get possession of, acquire, gain.
| [1292 Britton iv. viii. §1 Cist pleintif neqedent ne i purra rien conquestre [3 MSS. conquester, 2 conquere, 1 reconquere; transl. Yet the plaintiff cannot recover anything therein.] 1597 Jas. I Dæmonol. ii. i, That spirit whereby she [the ‘Pythonisse’] conquested such gain to her masters. |
2. To gain in war, conquer; to gain (a battle); to vanquish, beat.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xvi. 315 To conquest [v.r. conquer, ed. 1616 conquesse] the land all halely. 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. (1880) 160 They..shal come into spayne, for to conqueste the londes. c 1489 ― Sonnes of Aymon ix. 206 He conquested many bataylles. 1570 T. Preston Cambyses in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 177 To conquest these fellows the man I will play. 1644 A. Trevor Let. in Carte Ormonde (1735) III. 320 Who will give him occasion to conquest him too shortly. |
▪ III. † conquest, pa. pple. Obs.
(stress var.)
Also 7 -ist.
[Form-history doubtful: it may have directly represented med.L. conquæstus, -quistus, pa. pple. of conquærĕre, -quīrĕre (see conquer); but more prob. it was a shortening of conquested, pa. pple. of conquest v. (cf. lighted, lit, committed, commit, etc.); this is corroborated by the occurrence of the same form as pa. tense.
In Sc. conquest was analysed as conques + t, and treated as pa. pple. and pa. tense of conques v., beside conquess-ed, -it. In this capacity it was also spelt conqueist, -queast, -quist, by conformation to the vb., under which these forms will be found.]
1. Acquired, gained, received in possession. Sc.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 325 To haf in heritage..als a propire þing þat were conquest tille him. 1567 Abp. Beatoun in H. Campbell Love-lett. Mary Q. Scots (1824) 222 That reputation in all godliness ȝe have conquist of lang. a 1670 Sir J. Scot Staggering State 124 in Maidment Sc. Pasquils (1868) 79 Sir John Hay..has..never conquest any land but a poor piece in Galloway. |
2. Conquered in war; vanquished, overcome.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1305 Nov he þe kyng hatz conquest & þe kyth wunnen. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. c, Ȝe have ȝour man with his gude will conquest [rime rest]. c 1440 Bone Flor. 1201 Tyll y have thys londe conqueste [rime best]. a 1500 Chaucer's Dreme 1661 They were lightly conquest And prayed to a poore feast. 1549 Compl. Scot. i. 19 The diuyne sapiens..causis conqueriours to be conquest. |