# enquiry

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪnˈkwaɪə.ɹi/ · frequency rank #16,903

## Definitions
1. British form of inquiry.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **equity** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enquiry-vs-equity)
- **esquire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enquiry-vs-esquire)
- **inquiry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enquiry-vs-inquiry)
- **enquire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enquire-vs-enquiry)
- **enquirer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enquirer-vs-enquiry)

## Common misspellings (10)
`ennquiry`, `enqiury`, `enqquiry`, `enquirry`, `enquiryy`, `enquiyr`, `enquriy`, `enuqiry`, `eqnuiry`, `nequiry`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/enquiry