Definition of Acquaintence
Ac*quaint"ance (&?;), n. [OE.
aqueintance, OF. acointance, fr. acointier. See
Acquaint.] 1. A state of being acquainted, or
of having intimate, or more than slight or superficial, knowledge; personal
knowledge gained by intercourse short of that of friendship or intimacy;
as, I know the man; but have no acquaintance with him.
Contract no friendship, or even acquaintance, with a
guileful man.
Sir W. Jones.
2. A person or persons with whom one is
acquainted.
Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson.
Macaulay.
&fist; In this sense the collective term acquaintance was
formerly both singular and plural, but it is now commonly singular, and has
the regular plural acquaintances.
To be of acquaintance, to be intimate. --
To take acquaintance of or with, to
make the acquaintance of. [Obs.]
Syn. -- Familiarity; intimacy; fellowship; knowledge. --
Acquaintance, Familiarity, Intimacy. These words mark
different degrees of closeness in social intercourse. Acquaintance
arises from occasional intercourse; as, our acquaintance has been a
brief one. We can speak of a slight or an intimate acquaintance.
Familiarity is the result of continued acquaintance. It
springs from persons being frequently together, so as to wear off all
restraint and reserve; as, the familiarity of old companions.
Intimacy is the result of close connection, and the freest
interchange of thought; as, the intimacy of established
friendship.
Our admiration of a famous man lessens upon our nearer
acquaintance with him.
Addison.
We contract at last such a familiarity with them as
makes it difficult and irksome for us to call off our minds.
Atterbury.
It is in our power to confine our friendships and
intimacies to men of virtue.
Rogers.
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
ACQUAINTANCE, n. A person whom we know well enough to borrow from,
but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight
when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or
famous.
- 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
- A state of being acquainted, or of having intimate, or more than slight or superficial, knowledge; personal knowledge gained by intercourse short of that of friendship or intimacy: I know the man; but have no acquaintance with him.
Contract no friendship, or even acquaintance, with a guileful man. - Sir W. Jones
- A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.
Quotations
*Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson. - Thomas Macaulay
Usage notes: In this sense the collective term acquaintance was formerly both singular and plural, but it is now commonly singular, and has the regular plural acquaintances; thus the obsolete
*To be of acquaintance, to be intimate
*To take acquaintance of or with
*To make the acquaintance of.
- The Nuttall Encyclopedia
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