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Today it means

investigate

to carry out a systematic inquiry

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Where does the word "investigate" come from? It comes from Latin investigare, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

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Where does the word "investigate" come from? It comes from Latin investigare, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Investigate’s story begins in Latin: investigare meant “to trace out.” 'in-' plus 'vestigium', footprint, the root of 'vestige'. It reached English by 1500s as investigate. 'investigative journalism' dates from the 1900s. Today, investigate means to carry out a systematic inquiry.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient investigare "to trace out", 'in-' plus 'vestigium', footprint, the root of 'vestige'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s investigate "to track", 'investigative journalism' dates from the 1900s.

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