# inquiry

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/ · frequency rank #4,681

## Definitions
1. The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
2. A search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination of facts or principles; research; investigation; inquest.

## 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”). Later respelled to conform to the original Latin spelling, as opposed to the Old French spelling.

## Easily confused with
- **injury** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/injury-vs-inquiry)
- **inquire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inquire-vs-inquiry)
- **inquired** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inquired-vs-inquiry)
- **inquirer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inquirer-vs-inquiry)
- **iniquity** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iniquity-vs-inquiry)
- **inequity** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inequity-vs-inquiry)
- **enquiry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/enquiry-vs-inquiry)

## Common misspellings (10)
`innquiry`, `inqiury`, `inqquiry`, `inquirry`, `inquiryy`, `inquiyr`, `inquriy`, `inuqiry`, `iqnuiry`, `niquiry`

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