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inquire

 - 3 dictionary results

in⋅quire

  [in-kwahyuhr] verb, -quired, -quir⋅ing.
Use inquire in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to seek information by questioning; ask: to inquire about a person.
2. to make investigation (usually fol. by into): to inquire into the incident.
–verb (used with object)
3. to seek to learn by asking: to inquire a person's name.
4. Obsolete. to seek.
5. Obsolete. to question (a person).
—Verb phrase
6. inquire after, to ask about the state of health or condition of: Friends have been calling all morning to inquire after you.
Also, enquire.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME < L inquīrere to seek for (see in- 2 , query ); r. ME enqueren < OF enquerre < L, as above

Related forms:
in⋅quir⋅a⋅ble, adjective
in⋅quir⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1–3. investigate, examine, query. Inquire, ask, question imply that a person addresses another to obtain information. Ask is the general word: to ask what time it is. Inquire is more formal and implies asking about something specific: to inquire about a rumor. To question implies repetition and persistence in asking; it often applies to legal examination or investigation: to question the survivor of an accident. Sometimes it implies doubt: to question a figure, an account.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To inquire
in·quire   (ĭn-kwīr')   
v.   in·quired also en·quired, in·quir·ing also en·quir·ing, in·quires also en·quires

v.   intr.

  1. To seek information by asking a question: inquired about prices.

  2. To make an inquiry or investigation: inquire into the extent of the corruption.

v.   tr.

  1. To ask about.

  2. To ask: "I am free to inquire what a work of art means to me" (Bernard Berenson). See Synonyms at ask.

Phrasal Verb(s):
inquire afterTo ask about the health or condition of.

[Middle English enquiren, from Old French enquerre, from Vulgar Latin *inquaerere, alteration of Latin inquīrere : in-, into; see in-2 + quaerere, to seek.]
in·quir'er n., in·quir'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

inquire 
c.1290, from O.Fr. enquerre, from V.L. *inquærere, from L. in- "into" + quærere "ask, seek" (see query). Respelled 14c. on L. model, but half-Latinized enquire still persists.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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