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Inquiry vs Experiment - What's the difference?

inquiry | experiment |

As nouns the difference between inquiry and experiment

is that inquiry is the act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning while experiment is a test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried.

As a verb experiment is

to conduct an experiment.

inquiry

English

(wikipedia inquiry)

Alternative forms

* enquiry

Noun

(inquiries)
  • The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
  • Search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination of facts or principles; research; investigation; as, physical inquiries.

    • 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'' [http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=inquiry], 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.) American English usually uses inquiry .

    References

    *

    experiment

    English

    (wikipedia experiment)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
  • (obsolete) Experience, practical familiarity with something.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.vii:
    • Pilot [...] Vpon his card and compas firmes his eye, / The maisters of his long experiment , / And to them does the steddy helme apply [...].

    Related terms

    * experimental

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To conduct an experiment.
  • (obsolete) To experience; to feel; to perceive; to detect.
  • * 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2):
    • The Earth, the which may have carried us about perpetually ... without our being ever able to experiment its rest.
  • (obsolete) To test or ascertain by experiment; to try out; to make an experiment on.
  • * 1481 William Caxton, The Mirrour of the World 1.5.22:
    • Til they had experimented whiche was trewe, and who knewe most.

    Derived terms

    * experimenter

    References

    * ----