What does quired mean?
Quired is an archaic English verb form meaning “acquired” or “obtained.” It is the past tense and past participle of the now-rare verb quire, a variant related to acquire. Although no longer part of ordinary contemporary usage, quired can still appear in legal, property, and heraldic language, especially in the traditional expression “quired and purchased,” which describes property rights obtained through a transfer. Its appearance in older documents may initially sound unusual because modern English normally uses acquired in both past-tense and participial contexts. The word is useful primarily when reading historical records, interpreting formal legal language, or understanding quotations that preserve older vocabulary. In ordinary speech and writing, acquired, obtained, or gained are the natural and unambiguous alternatives.
verbAn archaic past-tense and past-participle form of quire, meaning “acquired” or “obtained.” It survives chiefly in older legal and heraldic language.
- Acquired, obtained, or gained; now chiefly found in archaic legal and heraldic usage.
"The estate was quired and purchased by the family in the nineteenth century."
"The rights were quired by the original proprietors."
"The title to the land was quired and purchased under an old settlement."
The legal phrase “quired and purchased” preserves an archaic way of saying “acquired” in property transfers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does quired come from?
The word belongs to the same English vocabulary as acquire and is generally treated as an archaic form of the related verb quire. These words reflect the Latin acquirere, meaning “to get, seek, or acquire,” through medieval English and Anglo-French. In modern usage, acquired has become the familiar form, while quired survives chiefly in fixed expressions and older legal language.
Related word forms
How quired is actually used
This is a literary, archaic, and historical form rather than a standard modern verb form. In current English, use “acquired” or “obtained.”
Easily confused with quired
“Quired” means acquired or obtained, whereas “required” means needed, demanded, or necessitated.