ask

English Online Dictionary. What means ask‎? What does ask mean?

English

Alternative forms

• aks, ax (alternative pronunciation until about 1600, now dialectal and no longer standard)
• aske (obsolete)
• aſk (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (UK)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːsk/
  • (Northern England, Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈask/
  • (also MLE) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːks/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈask/
• (US)
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæsk/
  • (New York City, Philadelphia) IPA^(key): /eəsk/
  • (African-American Vernacular, Cajun, Nigeria, proscribed) enPR: ăks, IPA^(key): /ˈæks/
• Rhymes: -æsk, -ɑːsk
• Homophones: acts, 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”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian aaskje (“to ask, demand, require”), West Frisian easkje (“to ask, demand, require”), Dutch eisen (“to demand, require”), German heischen (“to ask, request, implore”), Russian иска́ть (iskátʹ), Sanskrit इच्छति (iccháti) (whence Hindi ईछना (īchnā).

Verb

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

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

   2. (transitive or ditransitive) To request or enquire of (a person).

   3. (transitive usually with 'for' or intransitive) To request (an item or service); see also ask for.
   4. (transitive) To request (someone to do something).

   5. To request permission (to do something).

2. To put forward (a question) to be answered.
3. To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.
4. To invite.

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

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
• Pronouncing ask as /æks/ or /ɑːks/ 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) and Multicultural London English (MLE).
• The action expressed by the verb ask can also be expressed by the noun-verb combination pose a question.

Conjugation

Hyponyms

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

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

ask (plural asks) (informal)

1. An act or instance of asking.
2. Something asked or asked for.

   Synonym: request
3. An asking price.
4. (Internet) A message sent to a blog on social networking platform Tumblr, which can be publicly posted and replied to by the recipient.
   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:ask.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English aske, arske, ascre, from Old English āþexe (“lizard, newt”), from Proto-West Germanic *agiþahsijā (“lizard”), a compound of *agiz (“snake, lizard”) + *þahsuz (“badger”). Cognate of German Echse (“lizard”).

Alternative forms

• asker, ascar, askerd, askard

Noun

ask (plural asks)

1. (UK dialectal and Scotland) An eft; newt.
2. (UK dialectal) A lizard.

Anagrams

• AKs, KAs, KSA, SAK, SKA, aks, kas, ska

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic *askaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ask/

Noun

ask c (singular definite asken, plural indefinite aske)

1. ash tree (Fraxinus spp.), especially, common ash (tree, Fraxinus excelsior)

Declension

References

• “ask” in Den Danske Ordbog

Faroese

Alternative forms

• askur m

Etymology

From Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic *askaz, *askiz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ask/

Noun

ask f (genitive singular askar, plural askir)

1. ash tree
2. ash wood

Declension

Icelandic

Noun

ask

1. indefinite accusative singular of askur

Northern Kurdish

Alternative forms

• asik

Etymology

Ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-. Confer Persian آهو (âhu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑːsk/

Noun

ask f (Arabic spelling ئاسک)

1. gazelle
2. deer

Declension

References

• Chyet, Michael L. (2020) “ask”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 1), volume 1, London: Transnational Press, page 14

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic *askaz.

Noun

ask m (definite singular asken, indefinite plural asker, definite plural askene)

1. European ash (ash tree) Fraxinus excelsior

References

• “ask” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic *askaz. Akin to English ash.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑsk/

Noun

ask m (definite singular asken, indefinite plural askar, definite plural askane)

1. European ash (ash tree) Fraxinus excelsior

References

• “ask” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Norse

Noun

ask

1. accusative singular of askr

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *ask.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑs̺k/

Noun

ask m

1. ash tree
2. spear

Declension

Descendants

• Middle Low German: esk
  • Plautdietsch: Asch

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish asker, from Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic *askaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ōs- (“ash”).

Pronunciation

Noun

ask c

1. European ash (tree) Fraxinus excelsior
2. a small box (with a loose lid)

   Synonyms: låda, skrin

Declension

Derived terms

• chokladask (“box of chocolates”)

Descendants

• → Finnish: aski

See also

• dosa

References

• ask in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• ask in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• ask in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• sak, ska