enquiry
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English enquery, from the Old French verb enquerre, from Latin inquīrō, composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“I seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). The alternative form inquiry was subsequently respelled to conform to the original Latin spelling, as opposed to the Old French spelling.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
enquiry (countable and uncountable, plural enquiries)
- British form of inquiry
- scientific enquiry
- An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (title of book by David Hume)
Usage notes edit
Derived terms edit
References edit
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “enquiry”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.