Questionnaires

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A document containing a series of inquiries intended to elicit information from participants
2. A formalized tool featuring a variety of queries aimed at capturing feedback or data from a sample group
3. Documents filled with sets of questions designed to collect responses from individuals

Etymology: The plural "questionnaires" is simply the regular plural of "questionnaire," so the history belongs to the singular. The noun came into English from French, where "questionnaire" meant someone who asks questions or a list of questions. Its ultimate source is the Late Latin "quaestionarius," built from "quaestio," meaning "question," which itself comes from the Latin verb "quaerere," "to seek, ask, inquire." The same verb lies behind English "query" and "inquire." The Late Latin adjective "quaestionarius" was formed by adding the suffix "-arius," which marked a person or thing connected with something, to "quaestio." French then turned the word into a noun for a list of questions, and English borrowed that sense. The Latin root has barely changed in its journey, so the word's core idea of seeking an answer through asking has stayed intact across the centuries.

Synonyms: surveys, forms, polls, interviews, checklists