questionnaire

The word 'questionnaire' is a direct borrowing from 19th-century French. Its core, 'question,' originates from the Latin quaestio, meaning "a seeking, inquiry," which itself derives from the verb quaerere, "to seek, ask." The French suffix -naire, equivalent to the English '-ary,' is appended to form a noun denoting an object or instrument related to the root concept. Thus, the literal construction "pertaining to questions" logically evolved into the modern, specific meaning of a formal instrument—a list of questions—designed for systematic inquiry and data collection.

Structure: question + naire question: From Latin quaestion- (stem of quaestio), meaning "a seeking, inquiry, question." Functions as the core semantic root. naire: From French -naire, a suffix forming adjectives and nouns, derived from Latin -narius (pertaining to). In this context, it functions to form a noun meaning "a thing pertaining to questions."