Ask @ Wen

Ask

• 1English
  • 1.1Alternative forms
  • 1.2Pronunciation
  • 1.3Etymology 1
    • 1.3.1Verb
      • 1.3.1.1Usage notes
      • 1.3.1.2Hyponyms
      • 1.3.1.3Derived terms
      • 1.3.1.4Translations
    • 1.3.2Noun
      • 1.3.2.1Derived terms
  • 1.4Etymology 2
    • 1.4.1Alternative forms
    • 1.4.2Noun
  • 1.5Anagrams
• 2Danish
  • 2.1Etymology
  • 2.2Pronunciation
  • 2.3Noun
    • 2.3.1Declension
  • 2.4References
• 3Faroese
  • 3.1Alternative forms
  • 3.2Etymology
  • 3.3Pronunciation
  • 3.4Noun
    • 3.4.1Declension
• 4Icelandic
  • 4.1Noun
• 5Norwegian Bokmål
  • 5.1Etymology
  • 5.2Noun
  • 5.3References
• 6Norwegian Nynorsk
  • 6.1Etymology
  • 6.2Pronunciation
  • 6.3Noun
  • 6.4References
• 7Old Norse
  • 7.1Noun
• 8Old Saxon
  • 8.1Etymology
  • 8.2Pronunciation
  • 8.3Noun
    • 8.3.1Declension
    • 8.3.2Descendants
• 9Swedish
  • 9.1Etymology
  • 9.2Pronunciation
  • 9.3Noun
    • 9.3.1Declension
    • 9.3.2Descendants
  • 9.4Further reading
  • 9.5Anagrams

English

Alternative forms

• aks, ax (standard until about 1600, now dialectal and no longer standard)

Pronunciation

• (UK)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːsk/
    • ||

• • (Northern England, Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈask/
  • (multicultural London also) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːks/
• (US)
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæsk/
    • ||

• • (NYC, Philadelphia) IPA^(key): /eəsk/
  • (AAVE, Cajun, Nigeria) enPR: ăks, IPA^(key): /ˈæks/
• Rhymes: -ɑːsk, -æsk
• Homophones: ax, axe (some dialects)

Etymology 1

From Middle English asken (also esken, aschen, eschen, etc.), from Old English āscian, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- (“to wish; request”). Compare German heischen, Dutch eisen.

Verb

ask (third-person singular simple present asks, present participle asking, simple past and past participle asked)

1. (transitive or ditransitive) To request (information, or an answer to a question).

I asked her age.

I asked her (for) her age.

2. To put forward (a question) to be answered.

to ask a question

3. To interrogate or enquire of (a person). quotations ▼

I'm going to ask this lady for directions.

4. To request or petition; usually with for. quotations ▼

to ask for a second helping at dinner

to ask for help with homework

Emma asked Jim to close his eyes.

5. To request permission to do something.

She asked to see the doctor.

Did you ask to use the car?

6. To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity. quotations ▼

What price are you asking for the house?

7. To invite.

Don't ask them to the wedding.

8. To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
9. (figuratively) To take (a person's situation) as an example. quotations ▼

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
• Pronouncing ask as /æks/ is a common example of metathesis (attested since the Old English period) and still common in some varieties of English, notably African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
• The action expressed by the verb ask can also be expressed by the noun-verb combination pose a question.
• In older forms of English, when the pronoun thou was in active use, and verbs used -est for distinct second-person singular indicative forms, the verb ask had the form askest, and had askedst for its past tense.
• Similarly, when the ending -eth was in active use for third-person singular present indicative forms, the form asketh was used.

Hyponyms

• beg, beseech, demand, enquire, entreat, frain, implore, interrogate, petition, prompt, query, question, request, solicit, supplicate

Derived terms

• ask after
• ask around
• ask box
• ask how high when someone says jump
• ask in
• asking for a friend
• ask round
• ask the question
• don't ask
• it's better to ask forgiveness than permission
• it's easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission
• never ask the barber if you need a haircut

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