Ask
verbTo put a question to someone, or to request something.
How to spell ask
3 letters · 1 syllable
How to pronounce ask
What does ask mean?
- verbTo put a question to someone, or to request something.
Ask in a sentence
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She will ask the manager about the refund policy.
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Feel free to ask for help if the form confuses you.
Where does ask come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
The word comes from Old English ascian, also spelled acsian, meaning 'to seek information, to demand, to request'. It traces back to a Proto-Germanic root aiskojan, related to Old High German eiscon and Old Frisian askia, all carrying the sense of seeking or demanding. An interesting quirk of the early spelling is the metathesis, or sound-swapping, between the 'sk' and 'ks' forms: the variant 'aks' was common for centuries and survived in some regional dialects, while the 'ask' order eventually won out in standard English. Because the modern spelling exactly matches its plain pronunciation, it carries no real trap. The word has stayed remarkably stable since well before the year 1000, making it one of the oldest everyday verbs in the language.
How the word is built
- ask (single Old English root, no affixes)
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