acquaintance
nounUK /əˈkweɪntəns/ · US /ʌˈkweɪn.təns/
Etymology From Middle English aqueyntaunce, from Anglo-Norman aquaintaunce, aqueintance, Old French acointance (“friendship, familiarity”), from Old French acointier (“to acquaint”). Compare French accointance. Morphologically acquaint + -ance.
1
A state of being acquainted with a person; originally indicating friendship, intimacy, but now suggesting a slight knowledge less deep than that of friendship; acquaintanceship.
- I know of the man; but have no acquaintance with him.
- Contract no friendſhip, or even acquaintance, with a guileful man : he reſembles a coal, which when hot burneth the hand, and when cold blacketh it.1799, “Hito'pade'sa”, in William Jones, transl., The Works, volume 6, page 22:
2
A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.
- Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson.1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XVI, in The History Of England From the Accession of James II:
3
Such people collectively; one's circle of acquaintances (with plural concord).
- Having therefore conſulted with my Wife, and ſome of my Acquaintance, I determined to go again to Sea.1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), page 3:
- Their mother […] was busy in the mean time in keeping up her connections, as she termed a numerous acquaintance, lest her girls should want a proper introduction into the great world.1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC:
4
Personal knowledge (with a specific subject etc.).
- The words of these songs were either without meaning, or derived from an idiom with which Watt, a very fair linguist, had no acquaintance.1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
- Synonyms
- familiarity, fellowship, intimacy, knowledge, acquaintance, kith
- Derived terms
- acquaintanced, acquaintanceless, acquaintance rape, acquaintanceship, chance acquaintance, disacquaintance, inacquaintance, make someone's acquaintance, nodding acquaintance, nonacquaintance, preacquaintance, reacquaintance, renew acquaintances, scrape acquaintance, semiacquaintance, unacquaintance
- Hypernyms
- person
- Hyponyms
- neighbor, well-wisher