■ verb chiefly Brit.
1》 ask for information.
↘( ~ after ) ask about the health and well-being of.
↘[as adjective enquiring ] (of a look) suggesting that information is sought.
2》 ( ~ into ) investigate.
Derivatives
~r noun
enquiringly adverb
Origin
ME enquere , from OFr. enquerre , based on L. inquirere (based on quaerere 'seek').
Usage
The traditional distinction between ~ and inquire is that ~ is to be used for general senses of ‘ask’, while inquire is reserved for uses meaning ‘make a formal investigation’. In practice, however, ~ (and enquiry ) is more common in British English while inquire (and inquiry ) is more common in US English, but otherwise there is little discernible distinction in the way the words are used.