acquaintance
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acquaintance
- /əˈkweɪn.təns/ UK
- /ʌˈkweɪn.təns/ US
Where it comes from
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.
noun acquaintances
- 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.
- A person or persons with whom one is acquainted. Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson.
- 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.
- 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.
Similar: familiarity, fellowship, intimacy, knowledge, acquaintance, kith
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: friend, familiarity, conversance, conversancy, friendship, known, familiarisation, well-known, familiarization, familiar, meeting, proficiency, relationship, relation, informed, knowing
noun
Similar: familiarity, fellowship, intimacy, knowledge, acquaintance, kith
Translations
Every language
noun state of being acquainted, acquaintanceship
| Español | amistad, conocimiento, junta, relación, trato |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 知り合い shiriai |
| हिन्दी | परिचय paricay |
| Português | familiaridade |
| Français | relation, accointance, connaissance |
| Deutsch | Bekanntschaft, Umgang |
| Italiano | conoscenza |
| Ελληνικά | γνωριμία gnorimía |
| Română | cunoștință |
| Русский | знако́мство znakómstvo |
| العربية | مَعْرِفَة maʕrifa |
noun person
| Español | conocido, conocida, amiguete |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 아는 사람 aneun saram, 지인 jiin |
| 日本語 | 知人 chijin, 知り合い shiriai |
| 中文 | 熟人 shúrén, shóurén, 相識 /相识 xiāngshí |
| हिन्दी | परिचित paricit |
| Português | conhecido |
| Français | fréquentation, relation, connaissance |
| Deutsch | Bekannter, Bekannte |
| Italiano | conoscenza |
| Ελληνικά | γνωστός gnostós |
| Română | cunoscut, cunoscută, cunoștință |
| Русский | знако́мый znakómyj, знако́мая znakómaja |
| Tiếng Việt | người quen |
Talk about this word "acquaintance." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/acquaintance. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. acquaintance. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/acquaintance "acquaintance." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/acquaintance.Cite this
@misc{acquaintance_2026,
title = {acquaintance},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/acquaintance},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
