information-seeking
|in-for-ma-tion-seek-ing|
🇺🇸
/ˌɪnfərˈmeɪʃən ˈsiːkɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃən ˈsiːkɪŋ/
looking for information
Etymology
'information-seeking' is a modern English compound formed from 'information' and the present participle 'seeking'. 'Information' ultimately comes from Latin 'informare' via Old French and Middle English, where it referred to the act of informing or knowledge; 'seek' comes from Old English 'sēcan' meaning 'to try to obtain, look for'.
'information' entered Middle English from Old French and Medieval Latin (e.g. 'informacio'/'informatio'), and developed into the modern English 'information'. 'Seek' evolved from Old English 'sēcan' to Middle English 'seken' and then modern English 'seek'. The compound 'information-seeking' arose in modern English usage (20th century onward) in academic and technical contexts to name the activity of searching for information.
Individually, 'information' historically meant 'the act of informing' or 'knowledge communicated', and 'seek' meant 'to try to obtain'; together the compound came to mean specifically 'the activity or tendency of looking for information' rather than the separate senses of each word.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the activity or process of looking for or obtaining information.
Effective information-seeking often requires knowing good sources and search strategies.
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Adjective 1
describing behavior, tools, or processes intended to find or retrieve information (often used in compounds, e.g., information-seeking behavior).
They conducted an information-seeking survey to learn how people find health advice online.
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Last updated: 2026/01/12 23:32