English
enquiry
Enquiry comes from Latin inquīrō ‘to seek after, search for, inquire into…’, and goes back to quaerō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to seek, look for’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquīrō‘to seek after, search for, inquire into something’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enquery
- Englishtodayenquiry
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerō‘to seek, look for’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquīrō‘to seek after, search for, inquire into something’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enquery
- Englishtodayenquiry
The story
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’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. The alternative form inquiry was subsequently respelled to conform to the original Latin spelling, as opposed to the Old French spelling.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ‘to acquire’
conquest, questionnaire, 11 more
through Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō
through Latin quaerō ‘to seek, look for’
quest, acquisition, conquer, exquisite, query, requisite, 12 more
through Latin inquīrō ‘to seek after, search for, inquire into…’
inquisition, inquire, inquisitor
through Middle English enquery
Today it means
noun —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin quaerō / enquiry