Enquiry vs inquiry

My dictionaries are pretty straightforward--

ENQUIRY:


? noun: a systematic investigation of a matter of public interest
? noun: a search for knowledge
? noun: an instance of questioning

alt. spelling of inquiry
Variant of

My understanding of the difference between the two words is that an 'enquiry' is a request for information from an individual or a group to another official individual or group. An 'inquiry' is a critical examination of a past event by an official body, the Enron scandal for example; resulted in an 'inquiry'.

As far as I understand it they are variants of the same word. In British English I see the spelling "enquiry" more than "inquiry". Possibly inquiry is the correct American spelling.

Mister Micawber's answer is the best, but I did find this additional bit of information on usage (the meaning of the words is the same):

USAGE: Inquire (and inquiry) are the usual U.S. spellings; enquire and enquiry are the standard forms in Britain. Some American speakers put the stress on the first syllable of the noun inquiry, but the dominant pronunciation stresses the s

In British English, there is little difference between them, but generally, "enquiry" is more closely related to "query" in that it is an informal request for information, while "inquiry" is a more formal search for knowledge. In practice, the two are often used interchangeably and "enquiry" tends to be the preferred British English while "inquiry" is the preferred American English. However,