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Inquiry vs Query - What's the difference?

inquiry | query |

Query is a synonym of inquiry.



As nouns the difference between inquiry and query

is that inquiry is the act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning while query is a question or inquiry.

As a verb query is

to ask, inquire.

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

    *

    query

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (archaic)

    Noun

    (queries)
  • A question or inquiry.
    • The teacher answered the student's query concerning biosynthesis.
  • A question mark.
  • * Oliver Sacks, Awakenings
    • She had written in her diary: "I don't think I am in a concentration-camp??????", the queries growing larger and more numerous till they covered the entire page
  • * 2006 , "Pip", Re: Royal Enfield motorbike - why would anyone buy one?'' (on newsgroup ''rec.motorcycles )
    • I refer you to your line above, where you use a query and a bang together.
  • (computing, databases) A set of instructions passed to a database.
    • The database admin switched on query logging for debugging purposes.

    Derived terms

    * query language * subquery

    Verb

  • To ask, inquire.
  • To ask a question.
  • To question or call into doubt.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=20 citation , passage=The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.}}
  • (computing, databases) To pass a query to a database to retrieve information.
  • *
  • (internet) To send a private message to (a user on IRC).
  • * 2000 , "Phantom", Re: Uhm.. hi... I guess...'' (on newsgroup ''alt.support.boy-lovers )
    • He parted the channel saying "SHUTUP!"... so I queried him, asking if there was something I could do.. maybe talk...
  • * 2000 , "Robert Erdec", Re: Help; mIRC32; unable to resolve server arnes.si'' (on newsgroup ''alt.irc.mirc )
    • if you know someone who is in the channel, you can query them and ask for the key.

    Related terms

    * (l) * (l)