enquire
verbUK /ɛnˈkwaɪə/ · US /ɛnˈkwaɪɹ/
Etymology From Old French enquerre, from en- + querre (“to search, to look for”), from Latin quaerere, of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”).
- He enquired about the availability of rental bicycles in the town.
- Having thus at length enquired the truth concerning Law and dispense.1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC:
1 more example
- Thus prompts his accents and his actions still, / And all obey and few enquire his will; / To such, brief answer and contemptuous eye / Convey reproof, nor further deign reply.1814, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in The Corsair, a Tale, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza II, page 5, lines 79–82:
- Derived terms
- enquire after, enquire of, enquirer, unenquired
- Related terms
- enquiry