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verb (used with object)
1.
to put a question to; inquire of: I asked him but he didn't answer.
2.
to request information about: to ask the way.
3.
to try to get by using words; request: to ask advice; to ask a favor.
4.
to solicit from; request of: Could I ask you a favor? Ask her for advice.
5.
EXPANDto demand; expect: What price are they asking? A little silence is all I ask.
6.
to set a price of: to ask $20 for the hat.
7.
to call for; need; require: This experiment asks patience.
8.
to invite: to ask guests to dinner.
9.
COLLAPSEArchaic. to publish (banns).
verb (used without object)
10.
to make inquiry; inquire: to ask about a person.
11.
to request or petition (usually followed by for): to ask for leniency; to ask for food.
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Asking
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
12.
ask for it, to risk or invite trouble, danger, punishment, etc., by persisting in some action or manner: He was asking for it by his abusive remarks.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English asken, axen, Old English āscian, āxian; cognate with Old Frisian āskia, Old Saxon ēscon, Old High German eiscōn (German heischen), Sanskrit icchati (he) seeks
before 900; Middle English asken, axen, Old English āscian, āxian; cognate with Old Frisian āskia, Old Saxon ēscon, Old High German eiscōn (German heischen), Sanskrit icchati (he) seeks
Related forms
ask·er, noun
un·ask·ing, adjective
un·ask·ing·ly, adverb
Antonyms
1, 10. answer.
1, 10. answer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To asking
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ask
O.E. ascian "ask," from earlier ahsian, from P.Gmc. *aiskojan (cf. O.S. escon, O.Fris. askia, M.Du. eiscen, O.H.G. eiscon, Ger. heischen "to ask, demand"), from PIE *ais- "to wish, desire" (cf. Skt. icchati "seeks, desires," Arm. aic "investigation," O.C.S. iskati "to seek," Lith. iekau "to seek"). Form
EXPANDin Eng. infl. by a Scand. form of the word (cf. Dan. æske; the O.E. would have evolved by normal sound changes into ash, esh, which was a Midlands and s.w. England dialect form). The variant in modern dialect ax is as old as O.E. acsian and was an accepted literary variant until c.1600. O.E. also had fregnan, frignan which carried more directly the sense of "question, inquire," and is from PIE root *prek-, the common source of words for "ask" in most I.E. languages. If you ask me "in my opinion" is attested from 1910.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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