To be of acquaintance

To be of acquaintance
Acquaintance 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. [1913 Webster]

Contract no friendship, or even acquaintance, with a guileful man. --Sir W. Jones. [1913 Webster]

2. A person or persons with whom one is acquainted. [1913 Webster]

Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

Note: 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. [1913 Webster]

{To be of acquaintance}, to be intimate.

{To take acquaintance of} or {with}, to make the acquaintance of. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Syn: Familiarity; intimacy; fellowship; knowledge.

Usage: {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. [1913 Webster]

Our admiration of a famous man lessens upon our nearer acquaintance with him. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

We contract at last such a familiarity with them as makes it difficult and irksome for us to call off our minds. --Atterbury. [1913 Webster]

It is in our power to confine our friendships and intimacies to men of virtue. --Rogers. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Acquaintance — 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • acquaintance — [ə kwānt′ ns] n. 1. knowledge (of something) gotten from personal experience or study of it [an intimate acquaintance with the plays of Jonson] 2. the state or relation of being acquainted (with someone) 3. a person or persons whom one knows, but …   English World dictionary

  • acquaintance — (n.) c.1300, state of being acquainted; late 14c., person with whom one is acquainted; also personal knowledge; from O.Fr. acointance acquaintance, friendship, familiarity, noun of action from acointer (see ACQUAINT (Cf. acquaint)). Acquaintant… …   Etymology dictionary

  • acquaintance — [n1] a person known informally associate, association, colleague, companion, contact, friend, neighbor; concept 423 Ant. stranger acquaintance [n2] knowledge of something through experience awareness, cognizance, conversance, familiarity,… …   New thesaurus

  • acquaintance — and description …   Philosophy dictionary

  • acquaintance — index cognition, experience (background), knowledge (awareness) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • acquaintance — *friend, intimate, confidant Analogous words: *associate, companion, comrade, crony Contrasted words: *stranger, outsider …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • acquaintance — ► NOUN 1) familiarity with or knowledge of someone or something. 2) a person one knows slightly …   English terms dictionary

  • acquaintance rape — n. DATE RAPE …   English World dictionary

  • acquaintance — n. familiarity 1) to have an acquaintance with (he has some acquaintance with statistics) 2) a slight, superficial acquaintance 3) on acquaintance (on closer acquaintance he proved to be a nice person) 4) an acquaintance with casual friendship 5) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • acquaintance — ac|quaint|ance [əˈkweıntəns] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(somebody you know)¦ 2¦(relationship)¦ 3 make somebody s acquaintance 4¦(knowledge)¦ 5 of your acquaintance 6 on first acquaintance ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1.) ¦(SOMEBODY YOU KNOW)¦ someone you know, but who is not a… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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