. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English question , questioun , questiun , from Anglo-Norman questiun , from Old French question , from Latin quaestiōnem , accusative of quaestiō ( “ a seeking, investigation, inquiry, question ” ) , from quaerere ( “ to seek, ask, inquire ” ) ,[ 1] of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō , from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- ( “ to acquire ” ) .
Partially displaced native Old English āscung . Compare also Middle Low German quēstie ( “ questioning; inquiry ” ) , Middle High German questje ( “ question ” ) .
Cognates include English quest .
Noun
question (plural questions )
A sentence , phrase or word which asks for information , reply or response ; an interrogative .
What is your question ?
1913 , Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln , chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients , New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company , →OCLC :I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.
2006 Feb. 3 , Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd , Season 1, Episode 4:
Can I ask you two a question ? / Please, Christ , yes. / How can you two live like this? / How can... / Don't google the question , Moss!
A subject or topic for consideration or investigation .
The question of seniority will be discussed at the meeting.
There was a question of which material to use.
2014 October 14, David Malcolm, “The Great War Re-Remembered: Allohistory and Allohistorical Fiction”, in Martin Löschnigg, Marzena Sokolowska-Paryz, editors, The Great War in Post-Memory Literature and Film , Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. , →ISBN , page 173 :The question of the plausibility of the counter-factual is seen as key in all three discussions of allohistorical fiction (as it is in Demandt's and Ferguson's examinations of allohistory) (cf. Rodiek 25–26; Ritter 15–16; Helbig 32).
A doubt or challenge about the truth, accuracy, or validity of a matter.
His claim to the property has come under question .
The story is true beyond question .
He obeyed without question .
1622 (date written), Francis [Bacon] , “An Advertisement Touching an Holy VVarre. ”, in William Rawley , editor, Certaine Miscellany VVorks of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. , London: I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson , , published 1629 , →OCLC :It is to be to question , whether it be lawful for Christian princes or states to make an invasive war, only and simply for the propagation of the faith.
2021 April 2, Ciara Nugent, “Can Public Transit Survive the Pandemic? London's New Transport Commissioner Wants You to Believe It Can”, in Time :The pandemic has not only caused an immediate fall in ticket revenues for the world’s public transit networks—rail ridership in Barcelona, Moscow, Beijing and New York City at times plummeting 80%—in some cities it also has thrown into question the future of mass urban transportation.
A proposal to a meeting as a topic for deliberation .
I move that the question be put to a vote.
( now archaic , historical , chiefly with definite article ) Interrogation by torture .
1751 , [Tobias] Smollett , chapter LXXVII, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle , volume II, London: Harrison and Co., , →OCLC :I, not at all ambitious of the crown of martyrdom, resolved to temporize: so that, when I was brought to the question the second time, I made a solemn recantation [ …]
( obsolete ) Talk ; conversation ; speech .
c. 1603–1606 , William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , :Made she no verbal question ?
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
sentence, phrase or word
Abkhaz: азҵаара ( azcʼaara )
Adyghe: упчӏэ ( wupĉʼɛ )
Afrikaans: vraag (af)
Albanian: pyetje (sq) f
Amharic: ጥያቄ ( ṭəyaḳe )
Arabic: سُؤَال (ar) m ( suʔāl )
Hijazi Arabic: سؤال m ( suʔāl )
South Levantine Arabic: سؤال m ( suʔāl )
Aragonese: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: հարց (hy) ( harcʻ )
Aromanian: ãntribari f
Assamese: প্ৰশ্ন ( prosno )
Asturian: entruga f , pregunta f
Avar: суал ( swal )
Azerbaijani: sual (az) , soru (az)
Baluchi: جست ( just ) , سوال ( sawál, suwál )
Bashkir: һорау ( horaw )
Basque: galdera , itaun
Belarusian: пыта́нне (be) n ( pytánnje )
Bengali: প্রশ্ন (bn) ( prôśnô ) , সওয়াল (bn) ( śôwal )
Bikol Central: hapot (bcl)
Breton: goulenn (br) m
Bulgarian: въпро́с (bg) m ( vǎprós ) , пи́тане (bg) n ( pítane ) , запи́тване (bg) n ( zapítvane )
Burmese: ပုစ္ဆာ (my) ( puchca ) , အမေး (my) ( a.me: ) , မေးခွန်း (my) ( me:hkwan: )
Buryat: асуудал ( asuudal )
Catalan: pregunta (ca) f , demanda (ca) f , qüestió (ca) f
Chamicuro: inajpeki
Chechen: хаттар ( xattar )
Cherokee: ᎠᏛᏛᎲᏍᎩ ( advdvhvsgi )
Chichewa: funso
Chinese:
Cantonese: 問題 / 问题 ( man6 tai4 )
Dungan: вынти ( vɨnti )
Eastern Min: 問題 / 问题 ( ông-dà̤ )
Hakka: 問題 / 问题 ( mun-thì )
Hokkien: 問題 / 问题 (zh-min-nan) ( būn-tôe, būn-tê )
Mandarin: 問題 / 问题 (zh) ( wèntí )
Wu: 問題 / 问题 ( 6 ven-di, 6 men-di)
Chukchi: пынԓён ( pynḷjon )
Chuvash: ыйту ( yjt̬u )
Cornish: govyn m , kwestyon m
Crimean Tatar: sual
Czech: otázka (cs) f
Danish: spørgsmål (da) n
Dutch: vraag (nl) f
Elfdalian: fråga f
Esperanto: demando (eo)
Estonian: küsimus (et)
Faroese: spurningur m
Finnish: kysymys (fi)
French: question (fr) f
Friulian: domande f
Galician: pregunta (gl) f , cuestión (gl) f
Georgian: კითხვა ( ḳitxva ) , საკითხი ( saḳitxi )
German: Frage (de) f , Anfrage (de) f
Greek: ερώτηση (el) f ( erótisi )
Ancient: ἐρώτημα n ( erṓtēma )
Greenlandic: apeqqut
Gujarati: પ્રશ્ન ( praśna )
Hanunoo: adliw ( literary )
Hausa: tambaya (ha)
Hawaiian: nīnau , ui
Hebrew: שְׁאֵלָה (he) f ( she'elá )
Hindi: सवाल (hi) m ( savāl ) , प्रश्न (hi) m ( praśna )
Hungarian: kérdés (hu)
Hunsrik: Froh f
Icelandic: spurning (is) f , spursmál n
Ido: questiono (io)
Igbo: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: pertanyaan (id) , soal (id)
Interlingua: question
Irish: ceist (ga) f
Italian: domanda (it) f
Japanese: 質問 (ja) ( しつもん, shitsumon )
Javanese: please add this translation if you can
Kalmyk: сурвр ( survr )
Kannada: ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ (kn) ( praśne )
Kapampangan: kutang
Karachay-Balkar: соруу ( soruw )
Karakalpak: soraw , sawal
Kazakh: сұрақ ( sūraq ) , сұрау ( sūrau ) , сауал (kk) ( saual )
Khakas: сурағ ( surağ ) , сурығ ( surığ )
Khmer: សំនួរ (km) ( sɑmnuə )
Korean: 질문(質問) (ko) ( jilmun )
Koryak: пыӈлон ( pəŋlon )
Kumyk: сорав ( soraw ) , суал ( sual )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: پرسیار ( pirsyar )
Northern Kurdish: pirs (ku) f , pirsiyar (ku) f , siwal (ku) f
Kyrgyz: суроо (ky) ( suroo )
Ladino: פריגונטה ( pregunto )
Lao: ຄຳຖາມ ( kham thām )
Latin: rogātiō f
Latvian: jautājums m
Lezgi: суал ( sual ) , жузна ( žuzna )
Lithuanian: klausimas (lt) m
Livonian: kizzimi
Lombard: questión f
Luxembourgish: Fro (lb) f
Macedonian: прашање (mk) n ( prašanje )
Malagasy: fanontaniana (mg)
Malay: soalan (ms) , pertanyaan (ms) , tanya (ms)
Malayalam: ചോദ്യം (ml) ( cōdyaṁ )
Maltese: kwistjoni f , mistoqsija f
Maori: pātai , ui , whakaui
Marathi: प्रश्न ( praśna )
Middle English: questioun , frain , fraign
Middle Persian: tr-pursišn
Mirandese: please add this translation if you can
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: асуудал (mn) ( asuudal )
Navajo: naʼídíkid
Nepali: प्रश्न ( praśna )
Norman: tchestchion f
Northern Sami: gažaldat , jearaldat
Norwegian:
Bokmål: spørsmål (no) n
Nynorsk: spørsmål n
Occitan: question (oc) f
Odia: ପ୍ରଶ୍ନ (or) ( praśna )
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: пытаниѥ n ( pytanije ) , въпросъ m ( vŭprosŭ )
Old East Slavic: пытаниѥ n ( pytanije )
Old English: āscung f
Oromo: gaaffii
Ossetian: фарста ( farsta ) , фарст ( farst )
Pannonian Rusyn: питанє n ( pitanje )
Pashto: پوښتنه (ps) f ( poṣtëna ) , سوال (ps) m ( swāl ) , مسأله f ( masala )
Persian:
Dari: پُرْسِش ( pursiš ) , سُؤَال ( su'āl )
Iranian Persian: پُرْسِش ( porseš ) , سُؤال ( so'âl )
Polish: pytanie (pl) n
Portuguese: questão (pt) f , pergunta (pt) f
Punjabi: ਸਵਾਲ (pa) ( savāl ) , ਪ੍ਰਸ਼ਨ m ( prśan )
Romanian: întrebare (ro) f
Romansch: dumonda f
Russian: вопро́с (ru) m ( voprós )
Sanskrit: प्रश्न (sa) ( praśna ) , पृच्छा (sa) f ( pṛcchā )
Scots: quaisten
Scottish Gaelic: ceist f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: пи́та̄ње n
Roman: pítānje (sh) n
Shor: сурағ ( surağ )
Sicilian: dumanna (scn) f , dimanna (scn) f , dimanna (scn) f , dumanna (scn) f
Sindhi: please add this translation if you can
Sinhalese: ප්රශ්නය ( praśnaya )
Skolt Sami: kõõččmoš
Slovak: otázka (sk) f
Slovene: vprašanje (sl) n
Somali: please add this translation if you can
Southern Altai: сурак ( surak )
Southern Sami: gyhtjelasse
Spanish: pregunta (es) f , cuestión (es) f
Swahili: swali (sw)
Swedish: fråga (sv) c , spörsmål (sv) n , spörjning c
Tabasaran: суал ( sual )
Tagalog: tanong (tl)
Tajik: пурсиш ( pursiš ) , савол (tg) ( savol )
Tamil: கேள்வி (ta) ( kēḷvi )
Taos: cìakǫʼóna
Tatar: сорау ( soraw )
Telugu: ప్రశ్న (te) ( praśna )
Thai: คำถาม (th) ( kam-tǎam )
Tibetan: དོགས་གནད ( dogs gnad )
Tigrinya: ሕቶ ( ḥəto )
Tocharian B: prāśśäṃ
Turkish: soru (tr)
Turkmen: sorag , sowal
Tuvan: айтырыг ( aytırıg )
Udmurt: юан ( juan )
Ukrainian: пита́ння (uk) n ( pytánnja )
Urdu: سَوال m ( savāl )
Uyghur: سوئلا ( so'la ) , سوراق ( soraq )
Uzbek: soʻroq (uz) , savol (uz)
Venetan: dimanda f
Vietnamese: câu hỏi (vi) (句𠳨 )
Volapük: säk (vo)
Walloon: please add this translation if you can
Waray-Waray: paki-ana , pangutana
Welsh: cwestiwn (cy) m
White Hmong: lo lus noog
Yakut: ыйытыы ( ıyıtıı )
Yiddish: פֿראַגע f ( frage )
Yoruba: ìbéèrè
Yup'ik: apyun
subject or topic
Arabic: مَسْأَلَة (ar) f ( masʔala )
Armenian: հարց (hy) ( harcʻ )
Azerbaijani: məsələ (az) , mövzu (az) , məqam (az) , mətləb
Belarusian: пыта́нне (be) n ( pytánnje )
Bengali: বিষয় (bn) ( biśoẏ ) , প্রসঙ্গ (bn) ( prôśôṅgô )
Bulgarian: въпро́с (bg) m ( vǎprós ) , предме́т (bg) m ( predmét )
Catalan: tema (ca) m , assumpte (ca) m , qüestió (ca) f
Czech: otázka (cs) , téma (cs)
Danish: spørgsmål (da) n
Dutch: thema (nl) n , kwestie (nl) f
Esperanto: temo (eo)
Finnish: kysymys (fi) , kyse (fi)
French: question (fr) f
Georgian: საკითხი ( saḳitxi )
German: Frage (de) f
Gothic: 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌽𐍃 f ( sōkns )
Greek: ερώτημα (el) ( erótima )
Hebrew: שְׁאֵלָה (he) f ( sh'elá )
Hungarian: téma (hu) , tárgy (hu) , kérdés (hu) , ügy (hu)
Irish: ceist (ga) f
Italian: questione (it)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: pirs (ku) f
Macedonian: прашање (mk) n ( prašanje )
Maori: marau
Middle English: questioun
Ngazidja Comorian: suäla class 5 /6
Norman: tchestchion f
Persian: مَسْئَلِه (fa) ( masa'le )
Polish: kwestia (pl) f
Portuguese: questão (pt) f , tema (pt) m
Punjabi: ਪ੍ਰਸ਼ਨ m ( prśan )
Russian: вопро́с (ru) m ( voprós ) , предме́т (ru) m ( predmét )
Slovene: vprašanje (sl) n
Spanish: tema (es) m , asunto (es) m , tópico (es) m , cuestión (es) f
Swahili: swali (sw)
Swedish: fråga (sv) c
Tajik: масъала ( masʾala )
Ukrainian: пита́ння (uk) n ( pytánnja )
proposal to a meeting as a topic for discussion and vote
Bulgarian: пи́тане (bg) n ( pítane )
Catalan: qüestió (ca) f , assumpte (ca) m , proposta (ca) f , moció (ca) f
Danish: spørgsmål (da) n
Dutch: motie (nl) f
Esperanto: propono
Finnish: asia (fi)
French: motion (fr) f
Georgian: საკითხი ( saḳitxi )
German: Frage (de) f , Anfrage (de) f
Greek: ερώτημα (el) ( erótima )
Hungarian: javaslat (hu) , indítvány (hu)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: pirs (ku) f , mijar (ku) f , babet (ku) m or f
Macedonian: прашање (mk) n ( prašanje )
Slovene: vprašanje (sl) n
Spanish: moción (es) f , cuestión (es) f , asunto (es) m , tema (es) m
Translations to be checked
Etymology 2
From Middle English questionen , questyonen , partly from Middle French questionner and partly from the noun.[ 2] [ 3]
Verb
question (third-person singular simple present questions , present participle questioning , simple past and past participle questioned )
( transitive ) To ask questions of; to interrogate ; to ask for information.
1836 , Frederick W. Thomas, East and West , volume 2:Yet he lingered in Perryville with the determination of seeing Ruth, and questioning her about Helen Murray's letters.
1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine , pages 54–55 :However, a Carlisle newspaper got hold of the story, and at the half-yearly meeting of the Caledonian Railway Company, held on March 17, 1863, a shareholder, Mr. Meiklem, questioned the Chairman, Lt.-Col. Salkeld, regarding a "Chase of Engines," described in the newspaper article. The Chairman admitted that the statements made in the article were perfectly true.
2019 , Nic Pizzolatto, “The Hour and the Day”, in True Detective , season 3, episode 4 (television):Another former resident noticed the car because it was new and upscale and no one ever came back to question him. This points to serious flaws in the investigation from the beginning.
( transitive ) To raise doubts about; have doubts about.
1985 April 17, Frank Herbert , 15:46 from the start, in Frank Herbert speaking at UCLA 4/17/1985 , UCLACommStudies, archived from the original on 10 February 2017 :Question things. I have the most fun when I'm writing questioning things that people do not question - the assumptions that everybody knows are true.
2019 , VOA Learning English (public domain)
He questioned South Korean claims that China is a major source of its pollution.
( intransitive ) To ask a question or questions; inquire or seek to know; examine.[ 1]
( intransitive , obsolete ) To argue; to converse; to dispute.
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , :I pray you, think you question with the Jew.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
ask questions of
Arabic:
Egyptian Arabic: استفهم ( istafhim )
Armenian: հարցաքննել (hy) ( harcʻakʻnnel )
Azerbaijani: sorğu-sual etmək
Breton: goulenn (br)
Bulgarian: питам (bg) ( pitam ) , разпитвам (bg) ( razpitvam )
Catalan: preguntar (ca) , interrogar (ca)
Dutch: ondervragen (nl)
Esperanto: demandi (eo)
Finnish: kysyä (fi) , kuulustella (fi) , udella (fi)
French: questionner (fr) , interroger (fr)
Galician: preguntar (gl)
German: fragen (de) , hinterfragen (de) , befragen (de)
Greek: αμφισβητώ (el) ( amfisvitó )
Hawaiian: nīnau
Hungarian: faggat (hu) , vallat (hu) , kérdőre von , kikérdez (hu)
Icelandic: spyrja (is) , fregna ( archaic )
Ingrian: kuulussella
Irish: ceistigh
Italian: chiedere (it)
Latin: scisco , quaero (la) , scitor , percontor
Macedonian: испрашува ( isprašuva ) , прашува ( prašuva ) , распрашува ( rasprašuva )
Malay: bertanya , whakaui
Maori: pātai , ui
Middle English: afrainen
Neapolitan: addimannà
Persian: سؤال کردن ( so'âl kardan )
Polish: pytać (pl)
Portuguese: questionar (pt)
Romanian: întreba (ro)
Russian: расспра́шивать (ru) impf ( rassprášivatʹ ) , расспроси́ть (ru) pf ( rassprosítʹ ) , допра́шивать (ru) impf ( doprášivatʹ ) , допроси́ть (ru) pf ( doprosítʹ )
Sanskrit: पृच्छति (sa) ( pṛcchati )
Spanish: preguntar (es) , consultar (es) , cuestionar (es) , interrogar (es)
Swahili: kuuliza (sw)
Swedish: fråga (sv)
Telugu: ప్రశ్నించు (te) ( praśniñcu )
Tocharian B: pärk-
Turkish: sorgulamak (tr)
Ukrainian: допи́тувати impf ( dopýtuvaty ) , допита́ти pf ( dopytáty )
raise doubts about
Azerbaijani: sorğulamaq , sual altına qoymaq
Bulgarian: съмнявам се ( sǎmnjavam se )
Catalan: qüestionar (ca)
Czech: zpochybnit
Dutch: in vraag stellen , in twijfel trekken
Esperanto: dubi (eo)
Finnish: kyseenalaistaa (fi)
French: mettre en doute (fr) , douter de (fr) , mettre en question (fr) , remettre en question (fr)
German: anzweifeln (de) , bezweifeln (de) , infrage stellen (de) , in Frage stellen
Greek: αμφισβητώ (el) ( amfisvitó )
Hungarian: megkérdőjelez (hu) , kétségbe von (hu)
Icelandic: efa (is) , draga í efa
Italian: mettere in dubbio , interrogarsi , mettere in discussione
Latin: scitor , scisco , sciscitor
Macedonian: става под прашање ( stava pod prašanje ) , оспорува ( osporuva )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sette spørsmålstegn ved , stille spørsmål ved
Nynorsk: setje spørsmålsteikn ved , stille spørsmål ved
Polish: kwestionować (pl)
Portuguese: questionar (pt)
Russian: ста́вить под вопро́с impf ( stávitʹ pod voprós )
Spanish: cuestionar (es) , poner en tela de juicio (es) , dudar (es)
Swedish: ifrågasätta (sv)
Turkish: sorgulamak (tr)
See also
References
↑ 1.0 1.1 “question ”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , 1911 , →OCLC .
^ “question, v. ”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press , launched 2000.
^ “questiǒunen, v. ”, in MED Online , Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan , 2007 .
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French and Old French question (12th c.), borrowed from Latin quaestiō . At first a learned word, therefore retaining preconsonantal -s- (compare related quête ).
Pronunciation
Noun
question f (plural questions )
( historical , chiefly with the definite article ) question ( interrogation by torture )
question ( sentence, phrase or word which asks for information, reply or response )
Coordinate term: réponse
Je voudrais vous poser une question . ― I would like to ask you a question.
issue , matter , topic , problem
Derived terms
Further reading
Anagrams
Interlingua
Pronunciation
Noun
question (plural questiones )
question
Middle English
Noun
question
Alternative form of questioun
Occitan
Pronunciation
Noun
question f (plural questions ) ( Languedoc , Limousin )
question
Synonym: demanda
Antonym: responsa
pausar una question ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Derived terms
References
Old French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin quaestiō, quaestiōnem .
Noun
question oblique singular , f (oblique plural questions , nominative singular question , nominative plural questions )
question (verbal statement intended to elicit a response)
question (problem in need of resolution)
Descendants
References