English▸ noun
(plural quarries)
an animal pursued by a hunter, hound, predatory mammal, or bird of prey: grouse are not an easy quarry for a hawk.
▪ a thing or person that is chased or sought:
the security police crossed the border in pursuit of their quarry.
– ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French cuiree, alteration, influenced by cuir ‘leather’ and curer ‘clean, disembowel’, of couree, based on Latin cor ‘heart’. Originally the term denoted the parts of a deer that were placed on the hide and given as a reward to the hounds.