Where does “inquiry” come from?

Inquiry comes from Middle English enquery, from Old French enquerre meaning to seek, from Latin inquirere, composed of Latin in and Latin quaero meaning to seek or ask.

inquiry (English): The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by...

Definitions

  1. The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by...

Ancestry of “inquiry”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishenquery—
2Old Frenchenquerreto ask; to demand; to inquire
3Latinquaererepresent active infinitive of quaerō;...
4LatinquaeroI seek, look for; I ask, question, inquire,...
5Proto-Italickʷaizeō—
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷeh₂-to acquire

Words derived from “inquiry”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷeh₂- →Every word from Proto-Italic kʷaizeō →Every word from Latin quaero →
inquiry — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer