acquaintance
UK /əˈkweɪntəns/ · US /ʌˈkweɪn.təns/ noun
Forms acquaintances
- noun (uncountable) 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.”
- noun (countable) A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.
- noun (uncountable) Such people collectively; one's circle of acquaintances (with plural concord).
- noun Personal knowledge (with a specific subject etc.).
Synonyms
familiarity fellowship intimacy knowledge kith conversance conversancy acquaintanceship friend
Antonyms
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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.
- noun A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.
Etymology [OE. aqueintance, OF. acointance, fr. acointier. See Acquaint.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “acquaintance”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details