enquérir

Enquérir is a French verb that means to inquire, to seek information, or to investigate. It is most often used in the reflexive form s’enquérir, which means to inquire about or to learn of something or someone. For example, on peut s’enquérir de l’état d’un dossier or s’enquérir des nouvelles d’une personne. The non-reflexive sense is rarer and tends to appear in formal or literary contexts.

Etymology and related terms: enquérir derives from the noun enquête (an inquiry) and traces its roots to Latin inquirere, through Old French and later forms. The word is related to other verbs in the same family that express information gathering or investigation. In everyday usage, the related verb enquêter is more common for formal investigations, especially in journalism or law enforcement, while enquérir emphasizes the act of seeking information or confirmation.

Usage and register: enquérir is a formal or literary term. It appears in written French, official documents, and journalistic prose, where a careful, measured sense of inquiry is intended. The reflexive s’enquérir is the usual construction when speaking of inquiring about someone’s wellbeing, status, or situation. The plain non-reflexive form is less common in modern usage.

See also: enquete, enquêter, inquiry, inquiry in English. Examples of usage illustrate the distinction between enquérir and enquêter: while s’enquérir de faits peut describe gathering information about a situation, enquêter describes a more active, procedural investigation.