percontation

The story

1. Latin · learned borrowing frompercontatiō“inquiry, questioning”
2. English todaypercontation

Learned borrowing from Latin percontatiō (“inquiry, questioning”), from percontor (“to interrogate, investigate”) + -tiō.

First known use, by meaning

• from early 17th c. A question which cannot properly be given a one-word answer like “yes” or “no”.