Querying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of searching for information or answers through various means
2. The act of posing questions to gather data or clarify doubts
3. A method involving inquiry to discover facts or insights

Etymology: The verb "query" began life as a Latin command. "Quaere" is the second-person singular imperative of "quaerō," meaning "seek" or "ask," and English took the older spelling "quere" as a bare instruction to ask, the sort of thing a scholar might write in a margin to flag a doubt. Over time that imperative was anglicised into the noun "query," with a "-y" ending probably added to turn it into an abstract noun meaning a question or inquiry. Its relatives are scattered across Europe. French "quérir" (to fetch), Italian "chiedere" (to ask), and Spanish and Portuguese "querer" (to want or love) all trace back to the same Latin root, a neat reminder that asking, seeking and wanting once sat close together in meaning. English "question" is a close cousin too, since it comes from the same Latin verb.

Synonyms: asking, inquiring, questioning, interrogating, probing

Antonyms: answering, responding, replying, confirming, assuring