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Ask vs Afford - What's the difference?

ask | afford |

As verbs the difference between ask and afford

is that ask is to request (information, or an answer to a question) while afford is to incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as an act which might under other circumstances be injurious;—with an auxiliary, as can, could, might, etc.; to be able or rich enough.

As a noun ask

is an act or instance of asking.

As a proper noun Ask

is the first male human, according to the Poetic Edda.

ask

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) asken, from (etyl) .

Verb

(en verb)
  • To request (information, or an answer to a question).
  • I asked her age.
  • To put forward (a question) to be answered.
  • to ask a question
  • To interrogate or enquire of (a person).
  • I'm going to ask this lady for directions.
  • * Bible, John ix. 21
  • He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
  • To request or petition; usually with for .
  • to ask for a second helping at dinner
    to ask for help with homework
  • * Bible, Matthew vii. 7
  • Ask , and it shall be given you.
  • To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.
  • What price are you asking for the house?
  • * Addison
  • An exigence of state asks a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity.
  • To invite.
  • Don't ask them to the wedding.
  • To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
  • (Fuller)
  • (figuratively) To take (a person's situation) as an example.
  • *
  • Usage notes
    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See * Pronouncing ask as /æks/ is a common example of metathesis and a feature of some varieties of English, notably African American Vernacular English (AAVE). * The action expressed by the verb ask'' can also be expressed by the noun-verb combination ''pose a question'' (confer the parallel in German between ''fragen'' and ''eine Frage stellen ).
    Derived terms
    * ask after * ask around * ask for * ask in * ask out * ask over * ask round * for the asking * no questions asked * outask

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An act or instance of asking.
  • * 2005 , Laura Fredricks, The ask :
  • To ask for a gift is a privilege, a wonderful expression of commitment to and ownership of the organization. Getting a yes to an ask can be a rush, but asking for the gift can and should be just as rewarding.
  • Something asked or asked for; a request.
  • * 2008 , Doug Fields, Duffy Robbins, Speaking to Teenagers :
  • Communication researchers call this the foot-in-the-door syndrome. Essentially it's based on the observation that people who respond positively to a small “ask'” are more likely to respond to a bigger “' ask ” later on.
  • An asking price.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) aske, arske, from (etyl) .

    Alternative forms

    *

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An eft; newt.
  • * 1876 , S. Smiles, Scottish Naturalist :
  • He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask .
  • A lizard.
  • Statistics

    *

    afford

    English

    Alternative forms

    * afoord, affoord, affoard, affowrd (obsolete)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as an act which might under other circumstances be injurious;—with an auxiliary, as can, could, might, etc.; to be able or rich enough.
  • :
  • *
  • *:“[…] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?”
  • To offer, provide, or supply, as in selling, granting, expending, with profit, or without loss or too great injury.
  • :
  • To give forth; to supply, yield, or produce as the natural result, fruit, or issue.
  • :
  • To give, grant, or confer, with a remoter reference to its being the natural result; to provide; to furnish.
  • :
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.}}
  • *{{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 29, author=Nathan Rabin
  • , title= TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992) , passage=Writing a “Treehouse Of Horror”segment has to be both exhilarating and daunting. It’s exhilarating because it affords writers all the freedom in the world.}}

    Usage notes

    * Sense 1. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See

    Derived terms

    * affordable * affordance * offer affordances