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Ask

//ɑːsk// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    The first male human, according to the Poetic Edda. Norse
  2. 2
    A surname from Swedish.
Noun
  1. 1
    An act or instance of asking. informal

    "To ask for a gift is a privilege, a wonderful expression of commitment to and ownership of the organization. Getting a yes to an ask can be a rush, but asking for the gift can and should be just as rewarding."

  2. 2
    An eft; newt. Scotland, UK, dialectal, informal

    "He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask."

  3. 3
    Initialism of amplitude shift keying. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
  4. 4
    Something asked or asked for. informal

    "I know this is a big ask, but …"

  5. 5
    A lizard. UK, dialectal, informal

    "We hear of Adder dens, but detailed accounts of the discovery of one are very rare. Service (1902) records that a peatman, when levelling on an estate by the Solway, found in a hole in the ground, some 8 inches below the surface, 40 adders, 10 toads and a large number of asks (lizards)."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    An asking price. informal
  2. 7
    A message sent to a blog on social networking platform Tumblr, which can be publicly posted and replied to by the recipient. Internet, informal

    "Answering 'asks' like this is one common way that Tumblr bloggers interact with their followers, so it is in the act of publicly answering these asks that I examine community building practices."

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

    "I asked her age."

  2. 2
    make a request or demand for something to somebody wordnet
  3. 3
    To request or petition.; To request or enquire of (a person). ditransitive, transitive

    "I asked her (for) her age."

  4. 4
    consider obligatory; request and expect wordnet
  5. 5
    To request or petition.; To request (an item or service) (see also ask for). transitive, usually

    "to ask for a second helping at dinner"

Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    direct or put; seek an answer to wordnet
  2. 7
    To request or petition.; To request (someone to do something). transitive

    "Emma asked Jim to close his eyes."

  3. 8
    address a question to and expect an answer from wordnet
  4. 9
    To request or petition.; To request permission (to do something).

    "She asked to see the doctor."

  5. 10
    require or ask for as a price or condition wordnet
  6. 11
    To put forward (a question) to be answered.

    "to ask a question"

  7. 12
    make a date wordnet
  8. 13
    To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.

    "What price are you asking for the house?"

  9. 14
    require as useful, just, or proper wordnet
  10. 15
    To invite.

    "Don’t ask them to the wedding."

  11. 16
    To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
  12. 17
    To take (a person's situation) as an example. figuratively

    "Even when the damage isn't that clear cut, the intangible burdens of a bad image can add up. Just ask Dow Chemical."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English asken, axen, 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).

Etymology 2

From Middle English asken, axen, 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).

Etymology 3

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”).

Etymology 4

From Old Norse Askr, from askr (“ash tree”).

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Swedish Ask, from ask (“ash tree”), ultimately also from askr (“ash tree”). Doublet of Ash.

See also for "ask"

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