Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Interrogation; inquiry.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete A
question which cannotproperly be given a one-wordanswer like “yes” or “no”.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
First attested in Henry Cockeram’s 1623 English Dictionarie, first used in 1656; an adaptation of percontatiōn-, the stem of the Latin percontatiō ("questioning”, “inquiry"), from percontor ("I inquire”, “I interrogate").
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Examples
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It was called a percontation point, and it fell into disuse in the following century.
The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed RUSSELL SMITH 2011
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Technically she is called a percontation point - a 'rhetorical question mark' ... an irony mark also called a snark or zing.
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Technically she is called a percontation point - a 'rhetorical question mark' ... an irony mark also called a snark or zing.
Archive 2009-10-01 2009
whichbe commented on the word percontation
A questioning or inquiry, especially one which requires more than a yes or no answer.
May 12, 2008
caroline@ckarlstrom.com commented on the word percontation
A questioning or inquiry, especially one which requires more than a yes or no answer. ...and doesn't them all?
June 11, 2009