quir
Latinseek, obtain, acquire
About This Root
The root quir comes from Latin quaerere, 'to seek, to ask, to obtain.' It is the same verb that gave us 'query' and 'quest' — the basic idea is going after something, whether the something is information or a possession.
Latin had a habit: when quaerere was glued behind a prefix, its spelling shifted from -quaer- to -quīr- (you can hear the vowel change). And when the verb was turned into a noun or past form, it shifted again to -quis- or -quisit-. So a single Latin verb shows up in English wearing four different costumes — quir, quire, quis, quisit — which is exactly why words like acquire and acquisition look related but not identical.
The prefixes do the steering:
- ad- (toward) + quīrere → acquire: to seek toward yourself, i.e. to get and keep something. Its noun acquisition uses the -quisit- spelling.
- re- (back, again) + quīrere → require: literally 'to seek back,' which hardened into 'to seek insistently' = to demand or need. Its adjective requisite ('sought as necessary') uses -quisit-.
- in- (into) + quīrere → inquire: to seek into a matter, to ask. Its noun inquiry / enquiry is the act of seeking into something.
Notice the family splits cleanly into the two halves of 'seeking.' On the obtaining side: acquire, acquired, acquisitive (eager to get more). On the asking/investigating side: inquire, inquiry, disquisition (dis- 'thoroughly' + quisit = a thorough searching-out of a topic, hence a long formal treatise).
The link between 'seek' and 'get' is intuitive: in Latin, to seek something hard enough was already halfway to having it. English keeps both ends of that arc alive — you inquire to find out, and you acquire to possess.
Tie every quir/quis word to the act of seeking. acquire = seek toward you (and get it); require = seek so hard it becomes a demand; inquire = seek into a question. The spelling flips to -quis- in the nouns: acquisition, inquisition.
Core Words Deep Dive
The few words from this family worth telling in full — one by one.
ad- (toward) + quīrere (seek) = to seek toward yourself, hence to gain and keep. The 'd' assimilated to 'cq.' Note its range: you acquire property, but you also acquire a skill, a habit, a taste, or a reputation — anything you come to possess gradually through effort or time. The noun is acquisition (-quisit- spelling).
re- (back) + quīrere (seek) = literally 'to seek back.' The original sense was asking for something to be returned; over time it hardened into insistent seeking — to demand or need. That is why 'require' is stronger than 'ask': it implies the thing is necessary, not optional. Its adjective is requisite.
The adjective/noun side of require, using the -quisit- form: 'sought as necessary.' As an adjective, requisite skills = the skills required. As a noun, a requisite = a necessary thing. Most learners meet it inside prerequisite (pre- + requisite = something required beforehand).
in- (into) + quīr (seek) + -y = the act of seeking into something. Two everyday senses: a small one (an inquiry = a question, 'I made an inquiry about the price') and a big one (an inquiry = a formal investigation, 'a public inquiry into the disaster'). British English also spells it enquiry, traditionally reserved for the everyday 'question' sense.
Related Roots
Associated Words · 8
acquire
To obtain or gain something through effort; to come to possess
acquired
Developed after birth through experience, not innate
acquisitive
Strongly eager to acquire possessions or knowledge; greedy
disquisition
A long, formal analysis or discussion of a topic; a treatise
enquiry
A question or request for information; a formal investigation
inquiry
A request for information; a systematic investigation into a matter
require
to need; to demand as necessary
requisite
Something necessary or indispensable; essential, required