enquiry
n. countablen. 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.
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.
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.
Commonly takes the preposition 'into' for formal investigations or 'about' for general questions.
make an enquiry for the pricemake an enquiry about the priceWhen asking for information, the noun is typically followed by 'about' or 'regarding' rather than 'for'.