# inquire

Pronunciation: US say "in-KWYR" /ɪnˈkwaɪɹ/; UK say "in-KWY-uh" /ɪnˈkwaɪə/

## Verb

1. To ask in order to obtain information about something. *(Australia, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: To ask someone for information about something.
   - _Several customers inquired about the new return policy._
   - _I called the office to inquire about job openings._
2. To carry out an inquiry or investigation into a matter.
   - Simple: To try to find out the truth by looking carefully into something.
   - _Investigators inquired into the company's financial records._
   - _A panel was set up to inquire into the safety failures._

## Verb

3. To call or name someone or something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To call someone or something by a name.

## Origin

From Latin inquīrō ("to seek for"), formed from in- ("in, into") plus quaerō ("I seek, look for"), which is of uncertain origin but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ("to acquire"). It displaced Middle English enqueren (from Old French enquerre, of the same source) and native Middle English speir ("ask, inquire").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/inquire (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).