Word
enquiry
Phoneticsen·quiry
US/ɪnˈkwaɪˌɹi/
UK/ɛnkwˈaɪəɹi/
Definition
n. a question you ask to get information about something. It can also be an official study to find out the truth about a problem.
n. a request for information or a formal investigation into a specific matter. Often used in British English as the standard spelling for both general questions and official proceedings.
Examples
“I sent an enquiry to the hotel about their room rates.”
“The government has launched a public enquiry to determine the cause of the recent rail accident.”
“Despite several formal enquiries regarding the status of the application, the department remained silent for over three months, citing a backlog of administrative tasks.”
Examples
simple
“I sent an enquiry to the hotel about their room rates.”
contextual
“The government has launched a public enquiry to determine the cause of the recent rail accident.”
complex
“Despite several formal enquiries regarding the status of the application, the department remained silent for over three months, citing a backlog of administrative tasks.”
Usage
Commonly takes the preposition 'into' for formal investigations or 'about' for general questions.
Pitfall
make an enquiry for the price
make an enquiry about the price
When asking for information, the noun is typically followed by 'about' or 'regarding' rather than 'for'.
Real-World Examples
“Police are currently at the scene and have said the public should avoid the area while enquiries continue.” “Everton striker Beto could be off to Fiorentina, who have also made enquiries about signing Manchester United’s Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee .” Etymology
From Middle English enquery, from the Old French verb enquerre, from Latin inquīrō, composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“I seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). The alternative form inquiry was subsequently respelled to conform to the original Latin spelling, as opposed to the Old French spelling.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/enquiry