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) (ambitransitive)

1. (intransitive, US, Canada, Australia) To ask (about something).

   May I inquire to whom I have the honor of speaking?

   • 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.

   Police are already inquiring into the incident.

   • 1954, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick, “Socrates on Trial: The Apology”, in The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics), Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, →OCLC, page 20:

     It is these people, gentlemen, the disseminators of these rumours, who are my dangerous accusers; because those who hear them suppose that anyone who inquires into such matters must be an atheist.

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

• The spelling inquire is more common, especially in American English, but also in British English. Some authorities assert that a distinction is made in the UK, with enquire being used for a unofficial enquiry, and inquire only used in legal or government contexts; in the US, Canada, and Australia, this distinction is not made and inquire is used generally.

Synonyms

• frain (dialect or obsolete)

Derived terms

• inquirable
• inquire after
• inquire of
• inquirer
• inquiringly
• inquirist
• noninquiring
• reinquire
• uninquired

Related terms

• inquest
• inquiry
• inquisition
• inquisitive
• inquisitor
• query

Translations

to ask about something

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

  Egyptian Arabic: سأل (saʔal)

• Armenian: հարցնել (hy) (harcʻnel)
• Basque: iker (eu)
• Bulgarian: разпи́твам (bg) (razpítvam), интересу́вам се (interesúvam 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)
• Galician: inquirir (gl)
• 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)

• Ottoman Turkish: صورمق (sormak)
• 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), inquirir (es), inquerir (disused)
• Swedish: fråga (sv), höra sig för (sv)
• Telugu: విచారించు (te) (vicāriñcu), దర్యాప్తు చేయు (daryāptu cēyu)
• Thai: สอบถาม (th) (sɔ̀ɔp-tǎam)
• Ukrainian: питати (uk) (pytaty), довідуватися (doviduvatysja)

to make an enquiry

• Bulgarian: разпитяам (razpitjaam)
• Finnish: tiedustella (fi)
• Maori: whakaui, urupounamu, pakirehua
• Ottoman Turkish: كشف ایتمك (keşf etmek)
• Scottish Gaelic: faighnich
• Spanish: consultar (es), preguntar (es), inquirir (es), inquerir (disused)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Woiwurrung: ^{(please verify)} bila-doin

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɪŋˈkʷiː.rɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [iŋˈkʷiː.re]

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