question English · revision 3619

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200|origins=la quaerere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkwes.tʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|questiun]] (later [[m|enm|questioun]]), [[bor|xno|questiun]] and Old French [[m|fro|question|t=question, difficulty; legal inquest, torture]], and directly [[bor|la|quaestiō|t=a seeking, inquiry, judicial investigation]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|quaerere|t=to ask, seek]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[query]], [[quest]] and [[inquest]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A philosophical or theological problem: before 1200,^(Barnhart 1988) or the early 13th century according to Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before 1325, in the ''Cursor Mundi'', ''question'' meant any problem or matter, a thing asked, and the act of asking.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates “an utterance meant to get an answer” and “a doubt, difficulty” to the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) Middle English also used it for a debate and for legal proceedings.^(Etymonline) ''A question of'' is from the early 15th century and ''no question'', “undoubtedly”, from the mid-15th.^(Etymonline) The verb appears before 1470, in Malory's ''Morte d'Arthur'',^(Barnhart 1988) and “to doubt, dispute” is from the 1530s.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED) A motion put to the vote in an assembly has been a ''question'' since 1549.^(HTOED) ''In question'' is from the 1610s and ''out of the question'' from about 1700.^(Etymonline) The ''question mark'' is named from 1849,^(Etymonline) or 1869 according to Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) it was earlier a ''question stop'' (1862) or an ''interrogation point'' (1590s).^(Etymonline) ''No questions asked'' is from 1879, in newspaper notices about lost property.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – a philosophical problem.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – a thing asked, the act of asking (''Cursor Mundi'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – ''no question''.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1470 – verb (Malory).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530s – verb, to doubt.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1549 – a motion in an assembly.^(HTOED)

+ * c. 1700 – ''out of the question''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1849 – ''question mark''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1879 – ''no questions asked''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sentence or expression that asks for an answer.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A subject or point open to dispute; an [[issue]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A difficult matter; a problem.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A point under discussion: ''the question of funding''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A [[motion]] put before an assembly for a vote.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # Doubt or uncertainty: ''beyond question''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To ask questions of; to [[interrogate]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To express doubt about; to [[dispute]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To examine or analyse.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[questioner]]

+ * [[questioningly]]

+ * [[counterquestion]]

+ * [[questionary]]

+ * [[requestion]]

+ * [[subquestion]]

+ * [[unquestionable]]

+ * [[cross-question]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[query]]

+ * [[quest]]

+ * [[inquest]]

+ * [[inquire]]

+ * [[questionnaire]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}