Do inquire and enquire really mean different things?

Are inquire and enquire different words? It’s a good question.

Some say inquire is for formal use. A Government inquiry starts with an I. An informal request, asking the way to the Gents, is enquire with an E.

So, a simple answer.

Well, no. This actually complicates the argument. Do you inquire about a tax issue? Does a solicitor enquire about the codicils in a will? Deciding what is, or isn’t, formal use is almost impossible.

Precision in language

I like precision in language. I like cogent reasons for using words. So I’ve done some research.

We don’t have many almost-the-same formal and informal words that swap between starting with I and E. The formal front door to a law court is not an intrance, while the informal side door is an entrance. Why should enquire/inquire be different?

Fowler’s English Usage (usually a reliable source of wisdom) dodges the issue, saying only that inquire and enquire have been used in British English with almost identical frequency in the past 800 years.

So that doesn’t help much.

The Old French “en querre” began to be used in English in the 13th Century. Though the waters were soon muddied because some scholars preferred the Latin “in quaerere”. This is probably when the E and I problems began.

So is enquire with an E more authentic if it is closer to the original?

It is a flimsy claim, modern English is not Old French.

The 1969 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary lists enquire merely as an alternative spelling of inquire. It doesn’t mention formal or informal usage (unhelpfully, it also gives enquere as a third variant, which I hadn’t even heard of).

Inquire is by far the longer entry in the dictionary, with many subtle shades of meaning. Again, there is no mention of formal or informal usage.

Tellingly, alongside “inquire” in the SOED are many words like inquisition, inquisitive, and inquisiturient (a new one on me; it means “eager to play the inquisitor”).

Mean the same?

It is significant that all these words which, at root, mean “questioning” start with an I. There are no equivalents (enquisitive, enquisition, etc.) starting with E.

To sum up: inquire and enquire mean the same. The formal/informal distinction isn’t made in serious dictionaries.

The spelling? In keeping with all its near-relative words beginning with I, “inquire” has the stronger case.

The verdict? I am never in favour of removing a word from the language. And defend anyone’s right to use whichever words they prefer. Personally, I will use inquire, not enquire.