means A formal or careful act of asking, looking into, or investigating something to find out the truth or facts.

from From Latin 'inquirere,' to seek into, built from 'in-' (into) plus 'quaerere' (to seek, ask) — the same restless verb that gives us 'query,' 'question,' 'quest,' and 'require.' English took it through Old French 'enquerre' before settling on the Latin-flavored spelling we use now, which is why you'll still see the older 'enquiry' kicking around, especially in British use.