Translation
please; I ask, I beg
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Examples
, , .
Tell me, please, what you are doing.
, , .
Please come to me.
, , .
Please, my friend, listen to me.
, , .
We beg you, Lord, hear us.
, , .
Give me some water, please.
Quaeso is an old by-form of quaero, "seek, ask", that survived in only two forms: quaeso, "I ask", and quaesumus, "we ask". It has no infinitive, no other persons and no other tenses, which is why it is listed here as a word in its own right rather than as part of quaero.
In practice it is Latin for "please". It sits loosely inside a command, usually after the first word or two, as in dic, quaeso, or da mihi, quaeso, much as English drops "please" into the middle of a request. Comedy and Cicero's letters use quaeso constantly; quaesumus is the plural of the liturgy, where the priest asks on behalf of everyone. The English descendants (question, quest, query, inquire) come through quaero, not through this form.
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Latin · Free printables
quaeso: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "quaeso" (please; I ask, I beg): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 1, lesson 4: quaeso, ex, per and 11 more words.