enquiry

English

Alternative forms

• inquiry

Etymology

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

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈkwaɪə.ɹi/, /ɛnˈk-/
• Rhymes: -aɪəɹi

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

enquiry (countable and uncountable, plural enquiries)

1. British form of inquiry

   scientific enquiry

   An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (title of book by David Hume)

Usage notes

• See the usage notes in the entry "inquiry".

Derived terms

• domestic enquiry

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “enquiry”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.