Investigation
/ˌɪn.ves.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/noun
The process of looking into a matter systematically to discover facts.
Did you know?Its core comes from Latin *vestigium*, meaning “footprint” or “track,” so an investigation was originally a way of following invisible traces like a hunter, detective, or omen-reader.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weyd-
“to see, know”
Latin
Latin
vestigium
“a footprint, track, trace”
Latin
Latin
investigare
“to track, trace, inquire into”
Middle French
Old French
investigacion
“an inquiry, examination”
Late Middle English
English
investigacioun
“the act of inquiring or examining”
Modern English
English
investigation
“systematic inquiry into a matter”