inquire

English

Alternative forms

• enquire (chiefly British)

Etymology

From Latin inquīrō (“to seek for”). Displaced Middle English enqueren (from Old French enquerre, of the same source) and native Old English speir (“ask, inquire”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈkwaɪɹ/ X-SAMPA: /In"kwaIr/ (UK)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

inquire (third-person singular simple present inquires, present participle inquiring, simple past and past participle inquired) (intransitive or transitive)

1. (US) To ask (about something).
2. To make an inquiry or an investigation.

Usage notes

• In British English, the spelling enquire is more common, with inquire often reserved for official inquests. In Canada and the US, both spellings are acceptable, though inquire is favored.

Synonyms

• frain

Related terms

• inquiry
• query

Derived terms

• inquire after
• inquire of

Translations

to inquire

• Arabic: استعلم (ar) (ista`lama), سأل (ar) (sa`ala)
• Armenian: հարցնել (hy) (harc’nel) 
• Basque: iker (eu)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 詢問 (cmn), 询问 (cmn) (xúnwèn), 打聽 (cmn), 打听 (cmn) (dǎting)

• Esperanto: demandi (eo)
• Finnish: kysyä (fi), tiedustella (fi), kysellä (fi)
• French: enquêter (fr), se renseigner (fr)
• German: erkundigen (de), nachfragen (de)

• Hungarian: kérdezősködik (hu)
• Japanese: 問い合わせる (ja) (toiawaseru), 尋ねる (ja) (tazuneru), 訊く (ja) (kiku), 聞く (ja) (kiku)
• Latin: scisco (la), sciscitor (la), scitor (la)
• Romanian: a investiga, a cerceta
• Russian: спрашивать (ru) (sprášivat') , справляться (ru) (spravlját'sja) 
• Scottish Gaelic: faighnich (gd)
• Spanish: investigar (es), informarse (es)
• Telugu: విచారించు (vichaariMchu), దర్యాప్తు చేయు (daryaapthu caeyu)

See also

• inquest
• inquisition
• inquisitive
• inquisitor

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Latin

Verb

inquīre

1. second-person singular present active imperative of inquīrō