The Wordsmith Dictionary

In *quire ", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Inquired; p. pr. & vb. n. Inquiring. ]Etym: [OE. enqueren, inqueren, OF. enquerre, F. enquérir, L. inquirere, inquisitum; pref. in- in + quarere to seek. See Quest a seeking, and cf. Inquiry. ] [Written also enquire. ]

1. To ask a question; to seek for truth or information by putting queries. We will call the damsel, and inquire. Gen. xxiv. 57. Then David inquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him. 1 Sam. xxiii. 4.

2. To seek to learn anything by recourse to the proper means of knoledge; to make examination. And inquire Gladly into the ways of God with man. Miltom.

Note: This word is followed by of before the person asked; as, to inquire of a neighbor. It is followed by concerning, after, or about, before the subject of inquiry; as, his friends inquired about or concerning his welfare. "Thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. " Eccl. vii. 1 . It is followed by into when search is made for particular knowledge or information; as, to inquire into the cause of a sudden death. It is followed by for or after when a place or person is sought, or something is missing. "Inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. " Acts ix. 11.

INQUIRE

INQUIRE In *quire ", v. t.

1. To ask about; to seek to know by asking; to make examination or inquiry respecting. Having thus at length inquired the truth concerning law and dispense. Milton. And all obey and few inquire his will. Byron.

2. To call or name. [Obs. ] Spenser.

Syn. -- To ask; question. See Question.

INQUIRENT

In *quir "ent, a. Etym: [L. inquirens, p. pr. ]

Defn: Making inquiry; inquiring; questioning. [Obs. ] Shenstone.

INQUIRER

In *quir "er, n. Etym: [Written also enquirer. ]

Defn: One who inquires or examines; questioner; investigator. Locke. Expert inquirers after truth. Cowper.

New American Oxford Dictionary

inquire

in quire |inˈkwīr, iNG- ɪnˈkwaɪər |(also chiefly Brit. enquire ) ▶verb 1 [ reporting verb ] ask for information from someone: [ with direct speech ] : “How well do you know Berlin? ” he inquired of Hencke | [ with clause ] : I inquired where he lived | [ no obj. ] : he inquired about cottages for sale. • [ no obj. ] (inquire after ) ask about the health and well-being of (someone ): Annie inquired after her parents. • [ no obj. ] (inquire for ) ask to see or speak to (someone ): that was Mr. Paul inquiring for you —I told him he couldn't come in. 2 [ no obj. ] (inquire into ) investigate; look into: the task of political sociology is to inquire into the causes of political events. DERIVATIVES in quir er noun, in quir ing ly adverb ORIGIN Middle English enquere (later inquere ), from Old French enquerre, from a variant of Latin inquirere, based on quaerere ‘seek. ’ The spelling with in-, influenced by Latin, dates from the 15th cent. usage: Inquire (and inquiry ) are the usual US spellings; enquire and enquiry are the standard forms in Britain. Some American speakers put the stress on the first syllable of the noun inquiry, but the dominant pronunciation stresses the second.

Oxford Dictionary

inquire

in |quire |ɪnˈkwʌɪə | ▶verb another term for enquire. DERIVATIVES inquirer noun ORIGIN Middle English enquere (later inquere ), from Old French enquerre, from a variant of Latin inquirere, based on quaerere ‘seek ’. The spelling with in-, influenced by Latin, dates from the 15th cent. usage: On the difference between inquire and enquire, see usage at enquire .

American Oxford Thesaurus

inquire

inquire verb 1 I inquired about part-time training courses: ask, make inquiries, question someone, request /solicit information. 2 the commission will inquire into the state of health care: investigate, conduct an inquiry into /about /regarding, probe, look into; research, examine, explore, delve into, study; informal check out.

Oxford Thesaurus

inquire

inquire verb See enquire.

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

inquire

in quire /ɪnkwáɪə r /〖in (中へ )quire (求める )〗(名 )inquiry 動詞～s /-z /; ～d /-d /; inquiring /-kwáɪ ə rɪŋ /他動詞｟かたく｠〈人が〉〈事〉を尋ねる , 聞く ;〖inquire (of A ) wh節句〗(A 〈人〉に )…かを尋ねる ;｟書｠〖直接話法〗…と聞く (→say 他動詞 1a 語法 ); 〖inquire B of A 〗B 〈物事〉をA 〈人〉に尋ねる (!askと違い,人を目的語にしない: ╳inquire A Bとしない ) ▸ inquire his name 彼の名前を尋ねる ▸ I inquired what I should do .私は何をしたらいいのか尋ねた ▸ I inquired the way of a policeman .私は警官に道を聞いた .自動詞｟かたく｠〈人が〉 «人に /…について » 尋ねる, 聞く «of /about , as to » ▸ Nobody inquired about what had happened here .ここで何が起こったのかを尋ねる者はなかった ▸ For more details, inquire within .くわしくは店内にてお尋ねください (!店先の掲示などで ) .inqu í re after A ｟かたく｠A 〈人物〉の近況 [容体, 現状 ]について尋ねる .inqu í re for A A 〈人〉に面会を求める ; (店などで )A 〈品物〉があるかどうか問い合わせる .inqu í re into A A 〈物事〉について調査する .

inquirer

in quir er /ɪnkwáɪ (ə )rə r /名詞 C 1 尋ねる人, 調査員 .2 〖the … I- 〗…紙, …誌 (!新聞雑誌名の一部 ) .