quêten.
/kɛt/, U.S. /kɛt/ 1. Roman Catholic Church. The collection of alms or donations; = quest n.2 7. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > benefice > other financial matters > [noun] > collection
quest1528
collection1535
quête?1735
?1735 Trip through Town 58 The Choice generally falls on the handsomest Lady of the City..where the Quete is made, who..stands at the Church-Door, with a large Purse open, to receive the benevolence of the Well-dispos'd.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France I. 2 I enquired..what was become of Father Felix, who did the duties of the quête.
1833 J. F. Cooper Headsman I. xiii. 226 Good luck to thee, Father Xavier, and a rich quête.
1917 M. K. Waddington My War Diary 89 The chantre also made the quête. He had neither plate nor bag—held out his hand and every one put the offering in the hollow of the palm.
2. A traditional act of begging for food or alms to the accompaniment of folk song, spec. during or at the end of a folk play, as a collection of donations for the performers. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > other performances > [noun]
jest1592
entremet1766
parlour trick1866
quête1903
Gesamtkunstwerk1939
mixed media1945
the mind > possession > poverty > mendicancy > [noun] > begging > traditional on specific occasion
souling1813
gooding1818
Thomasing1847
quête1903
1903 E. K. Chambers Mediæval Stage I. vi. 119 Hardly a rural merry-making..is without its procession; if it is only in the simple form of the quête which the children consider themselves entitled to make.
1933 E. K. Chambers Eng. Folk-play 13 Structurally, the piece falls into three parts: the Presentation.., the Drama.., the Quête.
1979 R. Palmer Eng. Country Songs 15 A number of such songs..provided the opportunity for a quête.
1999 S. Tillis Rethinking Folk Drama vii. 192 It is just as easy..to see the quête as a celebration of the community that has been effected [sic] by the reconciliations within the drama.
Compounds
quête song n. a song traditionally sung as an accompaniment to the collecting of donations for the performers during or at the end of a folk play.
ΚΠ
1903 E. K. Chambers Mediæval Stage I. viii. 168 The rest..have either become..mere quête songs, or..have taken on a Christian colouring.
1995 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 108 341/2 Auffret's contribution includes..hymns, quête songs, and Christmas carols.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.?1735