ENQUIRY

inquiry, enquiry

(noun) a systematic investigation of a matter of public interest

inquiry, enquiry, research

(noun) a search for knowledge; “their pottery deserves more research than it has received”

question, inquiry, enquiry, query, interrogation

(noun) an instance of questioning; “there was a question about my training”; “we made inquiries of all those who were present”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

enquiry (countable and uncountable, plural enquiries)

(British, Australian, NZ) A question.

Search for truth, information or knowledge.

Usage notes

According to Fowler's Modern English Usage (1926), inquiry should be used in relation to a formal inquest, and enquiry to the act of questioning. Many (though not all) British writers maintain this distinction; the Oxford English Dictionary, in its entry not updated since 1900, lists inquiry and enquiry as equal alternatives, in that order. Some British dictionaries, such as Chambers 21st Century Dictionary , present the two spellings as interchangeable variants in the general sense, but prefer inquiry for the "formal inquest" sense. In Australian English, inquiry represents a formal inquest (such as a government investigation) while enquiry is used in the act of questioning (eg: the customer enquired about the status of his loan application). Both spellings are current in Canadian English, where enquiry is often associated with scholarly or intellectual research. (See Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, p. 282.)