Etymograph

English

question

Question comes from Middle English questioun ‘a problem, objection, or doubt’, from Latin quaestiō ‘a seeking, investigation, inquiry, question’, and ultimately from quaerere.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerere1‘to seek’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaestiō1‘a seeking’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaestiōnem1accusative of quaestiō
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400question1
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400questiun1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500questioun1‘a problem’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606question1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English question
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “Made she no verbal question?”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaerereWiktionary, English question‘to seek’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaestiōWiktionary, English question‘a seeking’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaestiōnemWiktionary, English questionaccusative of quaestiō
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400questionWiktionary, English question
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400questiunWiktionary, English question
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500questiounWiktionary, English question‘a problem’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606questionWiktionary, English question. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “Made she no verbal question?”

The story

Partially displaced native Old English āscung, whence asking.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with question, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ‘to acquire’

  • acquisition ← acquisicion ← acquisītiō ← acquīrō ← quaerō
  • exquisite ← exquīsītus ← exquīrō ← quaerō ← *kʷaizō
  • conquer ← conqueren ← conquerre ← conquaerere ← quaerō
  • query ← quaere ← quaerō ← *kʷaizō
  • requisite ← requīsītus ← requīrō ← quaerō ← *kʷaizō
  • conquest ← conqueste ← conquīsītus ← conquirō ← quaerō
  • inquisition ← inquisicion ← inquisitio ← inquīrō ← quaerō
  • inquisitor ← inquisiteur ← inquīrō ← quaerō ← *kʷaizō

through Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō

  • inquiry ← enquery ← inquīrō ← quaerō
  • enquiry ← enquery ← inquīrō ← quaerō
  • inquire ← inquīrō ← quaerō

through Latin quaerere ‘to seek, ask, inquire’

12 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of question

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600questionner
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500questionen
  3. Englishtodayquestion

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Today it means

noun A worded or expressed sentence, phrase, or only a word on its own, which asks for information, a reply, or a response; an interrogative.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “question”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin quaerere / question