inquiry

nouncommon in dialogue

United Kingdom//ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi//
United Kingdom//ɪŋ-//
United States//ɪnˈkwaɪ(ə)ɹi//
United States//ˈɪnkwɪɹi//
United States//ɪŋ-//

The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.

noun

1
The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
Yet in that February there were still some flutters of song, one of which was, Hey for the Lass wi' a Tocher, written in answer to Thomson's beseeching inquiry if he was never to hear from him again.
2
A search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination of facts or principles; research; investigation; inquest.
Scientific inquiry
Donald Trump has lashed out against his own supporters, calling them gullible “weaklings” for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into the late high-profile socialite and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Etymology

From Middle English enquery, from the Old French verb enquerre, from Latin inquīrō, composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“to seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). Later respelled to conform to the original Latin spelling, as opposed to the Old French spelling.

Forms

plural: inquiries

input · The act or process of putting in; infusion.inquest · A formal investigation, often held before a jury, especially…inquire · To ask (about something).

inquiry · The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.

inquisition · An inquiry or investigation into the truth of some matter.Inquisition · A harsh or rigorous interrogation that violates one’s rights.ins · insert

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.