FromMiddle Englishaqueynten, acointen, fromOld Frenchacointier, fromEarly Medieval Latinaccognitāre, fromLate Latinaccognitus, past participle ofaccognoscō, fromLatincognoscō, fromnōscō. See alsoquaint,know.
acquaint (third-person singular simple presentacquaints,present participleacquainting,simple past and past participleacquainted)
- (transitive, followed bywith) Tofurnish or give experimental knowledge of; to make (one) know; to makefamiliar.
I think you shouldacquaint him with the realities of the situation.
1693, [John Locke], “§162”, inSome Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […],→OCLC,page203:Before a Man can be in any capacity to ſpeak on any ſubject, 'tis neceſsary to beacquainted with it: Or elſe 'tis as fooliſh to ſet him to diſcourſe on it, as to ſet a blind Man to talk of Colours, or a deaf man of Muſick.
- (transitive, archaic, followed byof orthat) To communicate notice to; toinform;let know.
c.1591–1595 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene iv],page68, column 2:Acquaint her here, of my SonneParis Loue,
c.1596–1599 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene i],page91, column 1:I muſtacquaint you, that I haue recciu'd
New-dated Letters fromNorthumberland:
1655 April 21, “Mr. Ja. Nutley toſecreary Thurloe.”, inA Collection of the State Papers ofJohn Thurloe, Eſq; […], volume III, London: […] the Executor of the lateMr. Fletcher Gyles;Thomas Woodward, […]Charles Davis, […], published1742,page399:I had almoſt forgotten toacquaint your honor, that one major Alford (who was in mr. Love's conſpiracy) was of the graund inqueſt at Saliſbury, and was very zealous in his highneſſe ſervice here, and his good affection and wiſe carriage here, did much advantage the buſſineſe.
1771–1790,Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography[Part 1]”, inJohn Bigelow, editor,Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. […], Philadelphia, Pa.:J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott & Co., published1868,→OCLC,page159:He went directly, sign'd the indentures, was put into the ship, and came over, never writing a line toacquaint his friends what was become of him.
- (transitive, obsolete) Tofamiliarize; toaccustom.
- October 2 1642, Isaac Basire,letter to John Evelyn
- What success it may further have I shallacquaint you at my coming over
to furnish or give experimental knowledge of
to familiarize; to accustom
acquaint (notcomparable)
- (now chiefly Scotland)Acquainted.[from 14th c.]
1992,Alasdair Gray,Poor Things, Bloomsbury, published2002, page317:[I]f you have skimmed through even a paragraph of my poor neglected littlemagnum opus you will know I am unusuallyacquaint with my inner workings.
- “acquaint”, inWebster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.:G. & C. Merriam,1913,→OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney,Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “acquaint”, inThe Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.:The Century Co.,→OCLC.
- “acquaint”, inOneLook Dictionary Search.
acquaint
- Alternative form ofacquant
