Nearby Words

inquired

[in-kwahyuhr] Origin

in·quire

[in-kwahyuhr] verb, -quired, -quir·ing.
verb (used without object)
1.
to seek information by questioning; ask: to inquire about a person.
2.
to make investigation (usually followed 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).

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Inquired is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
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; Middle English < Latin inquīrere to seek for (see in-2, query); replacing Middle English enqueren < Old French enquerre < Latin, as above

in·quir·a·ble, adjective
in·quir·er, noun
re·in·quire, verb, -quired, -quir·ing.
un·in·quired, adjective

inquirer, inquisitor.


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. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

inquire
late 13c., 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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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