Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Inquest \In"quest\, n. [OE. enqueste, OF. enqueste, F.
   enqu[^e]te, LL. inquesta, for inquisita, fr. L. inquisitus,
   p. p. of inquirere. See {Inquire}.]
   1. Inquiry; quest; search. [R.] --Spenser.

            The laborious and vexatious inquest that the soul
            must make after science.              --South.

   2. (Law)
      (a) Judicial inquiry; official examination, esp. before a
          jury; as, a coroner's inquest in case of a sudden
          death.
      (b) A body of men assembled under authority of law to
          inquire into any matterm 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}.
      (c) The finding of the jury upon such inquiry.

   {Coroner's inquest}, an inquest held by a coroner to
      determine the cause of any violent, sudden, or mysterious
      death. See {Coroner}.

   {Inquest of office}, an inquiry made, by authority or
      direction of proper officer, into matters affecting the
      rights and interests of the crown or of the state.
      --Craig. Bouvier.

Coroner \Cor"o*ner\ (k?r"?-n?r), n. [From OE. coronen to crown,
   OF. coroner, fr. L. coronare, fr. corona crown. Formed as a
   translation of LL. coronator coroner, fr. L. corona crown,
   the coroner having been originally a prosecuting officer of
   the crown. See {Crown}.]
   An officer of the peace whose principal duty is to inquire,
   with the help of a jury, into the cause of any violent,
   sudden or mysterious death, or death in prison, usually on
   sight of the body and at the place where the death occurred.
   [In England formerly also written and pronounced {crowner}.]

   Note: In some of the United States the office of coroner is
         abolished, that of medical examiner taking its place.

   {Coroner's inquest}. See under {Inquest}.