inquire

English

Alternative forms

• enquire (chiefly British)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈkwaɪə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈkwaɪɹ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: in‧quire
• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

Verb

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

1. (intransitive, US, Canada, Australia) To ask (about something).
   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. […] A strong man—a strong one; and a heedless." ¶ "Of what party is he?" she inquired, as though casually.

2. (intransitive) To make an inquiry or an investigation.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To call; to name.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 12:

     Canute had his portion from the rest, The which he cald Canutium, for his hyre, Now Cantium, which Kent we commenly inquire.

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. In Australian English, inquire is preferred in all contexts.

Synonyms

• frain (dialect or obsolete)

Derived terms

• inquire after
• inquire of

Related terms

• inquiry
• query

Translations

to ask about something

• Arabic: اِسْتَعْلَمَ‎ (istaʕlama), سَأَلَ‎ (ar) (saʔala)

  Egyptian Arabic: سأل‎ (saʔal)

• Armenian: հարցնել (hy) (harcʿnel)
• Basque: iker (eu)
• Bulgarian: разпитвам (bg) (razpitvam), интересувам се (interesuvam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 詢問／询问 (zh) (xúnwèn), 打聽／打听 (zh) (dǎting)

• Esperanto: demandi (eo)
• Finnish: kysyä (fi), tiedustella (fi), kysellä (fi)
• French: enquêter (fr), se renseigner (fr)
• German: sich erkundigen (de), nachfragen (de), inquirieren (de)
• Hebrew: שָׁאַל‎ (he) (sha'ál))
• Hungarian: érdeklődik (hu), tudakozódik (hu), kérdezősködik (hu)
• Irish: fiafraigh, fiosraigh
• Japanese: 問い合わせる (ja) (toiawaseru), 尋ねる (ja) (tazuneru), 訊く (ja) (kiku), 聞く (ja) (kiku)
• Latin: scisco, sciscitor, scitor
• Maori: pakirehua
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: spørre (no), forespørre (no)

• Portuguese: inquirir (pt)
• Romanian: investiga (ro), cerceta (ro)
• Russian: спра́шивать (ru) (sprášivatʹ), справля́ться (ru) (spravljátʹsja)
• Sanskrit: पृच्छति (sa) (pṛcchati)
• Scottish Gaelic: faighnich
• Spanish: investigar (es), informarse (es)
• Telugu: విచారించు (te) (vicāriñcu), దర్యాప్తు చేయు (daryāptu cēyu)
• Thai: สอบถาม (th) (sɔ̀ɔp-tǎam)
• Ukrainian: питати (uk) (pytaty), довідуватися (doviduvatysja)

See also

• inquest
• inquisition
• inquisitive
• inquisitor

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /inˈkʷiː.re/, [ɪŋˈkʷiːrɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /inˈkwi.re/, [iŋˈkwiːre]

Verb

inquīre

1. second-person singular present active imperative of inquīrō

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: in‧qui‧re

Verb

inquire

1. inflection of inquirir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative