Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Inquisition

In′qui·si′tion (ĭn′kwĭ·zĭsh′ŭn), n. [L. inquisitio : cf. F. inquisition. See Inquire, and cf. Inquest.] 1. The act of inquiring; inquiry; search; examination; inspection; investigation.

As I could learn through earnest inquisition. Latimer.

Let not search and inquisition quail To bring again these foolish runaways. Shak.

2. (Law) (a) Judicial inquiry; official examination; inquest. (b) The finding of a jury, especially such a finding under a writ of inquiry. Bouvier.

The justices in eyre had it formerly in charge to make inquisition concerning them by a jury of the county. Blackstone.

3. (R. C. Ch.) A court or tribunal for the examination and punishment of heretics, fully established by Pope Gregory IX. in 1235. Its operations were chiefly confined to Spain, Portugal, and their dependencies, and a part of Italy.

In′qui·si′tion, v. t. To make inquisition concerning; to inquire into. [Obs.] Milton.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.