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Webster 1913 Edition


Query

Que′ry

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Queries
(#)
.
[L.
quaere
, imperative sing. of
quaerere
,
quaesitum
to seek or search for, to ask, inquire. Cf.
Acquire
,
Conquer
,
Exquisite
,
Quest
,
Require
.]
1.
A question; an inquiry to be answered or solved.
I shall conclude with proposing only some
queries
, in order to a . . . search to be made by others.
Sir I. Newton.
2.
A question in the mind; a doubt;
as, I have a
query
about his sincerity
.
3.
An interrogation point [?] as the sign of a question or a doubt.

Que′ry

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To ask questions; to make inquiry.
Each prompt to
query
, answer, and debate.
Pope.
2.
To have a doubt;
as, I
query
if he is right
.

Que′ry

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Queried
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Querying
.]
1.
To put questions about; to elicit by questioning; to inquire into;
as, to
query
the items or the amount; to
query
the motive or the fact.
2.
To address questions to; to examine by questions.
3.
To doubt of; to regard with incredulity.
4.
To write “ query” (qu., qy., or ?) against, as a doubtful spelling, or sense, in a proof. See
Quære
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Query

QUE'RY

,
Noun.
[from L. quaere, imperative of quaero; perhaps Heb. to seek, to search, to inquire.]
A question; an inquiry to be answered or resolved.
I will conclude by proposing some queries.

QUE'RY

,
Verb.
I.
To ask a question or questions.
Three Cambridge sophs each prompt to query, answer and debate.

QUE'RY

, v.t.
1.
To seek; to inquire; as, query the sum or amount; query the motive or the fact.
2.
To examine by questions.
3.
To doubt of.

Definition 2024


query

query

English

Alternative forms

Noun

query (plural queries)

  1. A question, an inquiry (US), an enquiry (UK).
    The teacher answered the student's query concerning biosynthesis.
  2. A question mark.
    • Oliver Sacks, Awakenings
      She had written in her diary: "I don't think I am in a concentration-camp??????", the queries growing larger and more numerous till they covered the entire page []
    • 2006, "Pip", Re: Royal Enfield motorbike - why would anyone buy one? (on newsgroup rec.motorcycles)
      I refer you to your line above, where you use a query and a bang together.
  3. (computing, databases) A set of instructions passed to a database.
    The database admin switched on query logging for debugging purposes.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

query (third-person singular simple present queries, present participle querying, simple past and past participle queried)

  1. (transitive) To ask, inquire.
  2. (intransitive) To ask a question.
  3. (transitive) To question or call into doubt.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess:
      The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.
  4. (computing, databases) To pass a query to a database to retrieve information.
    • 1999, Luciano Floridi, Philosophy and computing: an introduction, page 104:
      Linked tables can be accessed, queried, combined and reorganised much more flexibly and in a number of ways that may not be immediately predictable when the database is under construction.
  5. (transitive, Internet) To send a private message to (a user on IRC).
    • 2000, "Phantom", Re: Uhm.. hi... I guess... (on newsgroup alt.support.boy-lovers)
      He parted the channel saying "SHUTUP!"... so I queried him, asking if there was something I could do.. maybe talk...
    • 2000, "Robert Erdec", Re: Help; mIRC32; unable to resolve server arnes.si (on newsgroup alt.irc.mirc)
      if you know someone who is in the channel, you can query them and ask for the key.

Translations

Related terms