different between beseech vs inquire

English

Alternative forms

• beseek

Etymology

From Middle English besechen, bisechen, prefixed form of Old English s??an (“to seek or inquire about”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian besäike (“to visit”), Dutch bezoeken (“to visit, attend, see”), German besuchen (“to visit, attend, see”), Swedish besöka (“to visit, go to see”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: b?-s?ch?, IPA^(key): /b??si?t??/
• Rhymes: -i?t?

Verb

beseech (third-person singular simple present beseeches, present participle beseeching, simple past and past participle beseeched or besought)

1. to beg or implore (a person)
   • 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral, London, Oxford University Press, 1973, § 25:

     after what manner, I beseech you, must the mind proceed in this operation?

   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘Watches of the Night’, Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 61:

     She besought him, for his Soul's sake to speak the truth.

   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 31

     Panting a little in his haste, he told her how miserable he was; he besought her to have mercy on him; he promised, if she would forgive him, to do everything she wanted.
2. to request or beg for
   • 1990, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (translators), Fyodor Dostoevsky (author), The Brothers Karamazov, San Francisco, North Point Press, ?ISBN, page 657:

     […] the tickets had all been given out, begged, besought long ago.

Related terms

• seek

Translations

Noun

beseech (plural beseeches)

1. (archaic) A request.
   • 1839, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, George Darley, The works of Beaumont and Fletcher: Volume 1:

     Good madam, hear the suit that Edith urges, With such submiss beseeches; [...]

Anagrams

• Beeches, beeches, beseche

English

Alternative forms

• enquire (chiefly British)

Etymology

From Latin inqu?r? (“to seek for”). Displaced Middle English enqueren (from Old French enquerre, of the same source) and native Middle English speir (“ask, inquire”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?kwa??/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?kwa??/
• Rhymes: -a??(?)
• Hyphenation: in?quire

Verb

inquire (third-person singular simple present inquires, present participle inquiring, simple past and past participle inquired) (transitive, intransitive)

1. (intransitive, US) To ask (about something).

   • "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. […] A strong man—a strong one; and a heedless." ¶ "Of what party is he?" she inquired, as though casually.

2. (intransitive) To make an inquiry or an investigation.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To call; to name.

Usage notes

• In British English, the spelling enquire is more common, with inquire often reserved for official inquests. In Canada and the US, both spellings are acceptable, though inquire is favored. In Australian English, inquire is preferred in all contexts.

Synonyms

• frain (dialect or obsolete)

Derived terms

• inquire after
• inquire of

Related terms

• inquiry
• query

Translations

See also

• inquest
• inquisition
• inquisitive
• inquisitor

Latin

Verb

inqu?re

1. second-person singular present active imperative of inqu?r?

Portuguese

Verb

inquire

1. third-person singular present indicative of inquirir
2. second-person singular imperative of inquirir