A discussion on the Arqade sister site brought up an interesting question that I thought I'd share here.
What is the difference between a quest and a mission? Given the roots of the words, quest from the latin quaerere (to ask/seek), and mission from the latin mittere (to send).
It seems that you go to seek something on a quest, and a mission is something you are sent on.
So, if someone sends you on a quest, does it now become a mission? (i.e. Can you be sent on a quest?)
If you want to be pedantic:
A quest is where you set out to find something. King Arthur sent his knights out on a quest to find the holy grail.
A mission is where you set out to do something. King Arthur also sent a few knights out a mission to slay a dragon.
The difference had blurred over time, though. It would not be improper to draw a modern distinction as a mission being a secular assignment, whereas a quest is a spiritual journey.
If you are sent out to seek, isn't it both a mission and a quest?
Quoting Captain Kirk:
Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
I think that they are basically the same thing now. However a mission sure does sound more down to earth and formal and a quest sounds more erratic or other-worldly.
Ponce de Leon was on a quest to find the fountain of youth. He might have a mission to find the first river system to flow north to south.
This all seems highly confused IMHO, esp. the idea that a mission is secular and a quest is spiritual. As someone who lives in city know for it historical "missions" (Franciscan "posts" for evangelization and other so-called and rightfully controversial "civilizing" activities) and has a school run by "Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate" (OMI), plus having seen the film The Mission several times, it seems hard to characterize mission as a secular concept that either Jim Kirk or Ethan Hunt are "sent" on. Cpt. Kirk's is rather open ended and exploratory (more like a journey) while Ethan's highly specific with a very tight time-line (maybe more like an adventure).
I think there is more in common with a quest and mission than difference between those two things and a journey. I think the difference is that to be on a quest is that you can either be sent or initiate yourself whereas a mission is something one is sent by another, be it an authority figure ("King") or even the Divine. A journey is a just a modality of experience, which can be full of purpose from the beginning or can be found in the process of journeying, you may not have to go far to journey either, e.g. Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond. So in very American fashion, “It's not the destination, it's the journey” which is attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson and seems to have impacted Jack Keroauc's imagination in his seminal "beat" "travelogue" On the Road, that starts off as a journey but then becomes a quest when Dean Moriarty tells them they are in search of "IT." However, I don't think they are ever on a mission, unlike the Jake and Elwood, aka the Blues Brothers, who are trying to save the orphanage for the Penguin by "getting the band back together."
A Quest is a Journey with a General Goal involved, but without any clearly defined tasks (A Quest For Knowledge)
A Mission is a Clearly Defined Set of Tasks (Your Mission Is To Find A Bridge, Call For Reinforcements, And Secure The Route To The Safe Zone).
