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Inquiry vs Inquisition - What's the difference?

inquiry | inquisition |

As nouns the difference between inquiry and inquisition

is that inquiry is the act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning while inquisition is an investigation or inquiry into the truth of some matter.

As a verb inquisition is

to make inquisition concerning; to inquire into.

As a proper noun Inquisition is

{{context|historical}} a tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church set up to investigate and suppress heresy.

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

    *

    inquisition

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • an investigation or inquiry into the truth of some matter
  • * Latimer
    • as I could learn through earnest inquisition
  • * Shakespeare
    • Let not search and inquisition quail / To bring again these foolish runaways.
  • an inquest
  • a questioning
  • The finding of a jury, especially such a finding under a writ of inquiry.
  • * Blackstone
    • The justices in eyre had it formerly in charge to make inquisition concerning them by a jury of the county.
    (Bouvier)

    Derived terms

    * inquisition post mortem

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To make inquisition concerning; to inquire into.
    • (Milton)
    ----