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English Dictionary - With Multi-Lingual Search
| September 16, 2009 |
|
| Word of the Week--"Interrogate" |
|
Definition--Interrogate- v. to question thoroughly, sometimes threateningly; debrief.
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| Discussion--When most of us hear the word interrogate we visualize two hard-nosed police
officers grilling a suspect with a harsh version of "good cop, bad cop." They yell and scream and intimidate until they get the
suspect to confess to the crime. At least, that's the way it works on television. In real life, an interrogation does not have to be such a dramatic event. It could be a parent questioning a child as to whether or not the child has completed his/her homework. I know I used to face that thorough interrogation every night!
The main difference between just saying "question" or "inquire" instead of "interrogate" lies in the connotation of the words. Interrogate
implies a much more thorough and intensive questioning process. For instance, asking someone what they ate for breakfast is not much
of an interrogation. But then following up by asking why they ate what they ate, what they saw as being the nutritional benefit of the
meal, were they pleased with the food, etc... probably would constitute an interrogation.
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| Etymology--Interrogate-probably a back formation of interrogation, from Old French interrogation, from latin interrogationem, meaning question or questioning. |
Foreign Translations |
| Dutch: | ondervragen, verhoren |
| French: | interroger |
| German: | verhören |
| Italian: | interrogare |
| Spanish: | interrogar |
