Acquaintance

Forms: 3–4 acoyntaunse; 3–5 acqueyntaunce, aquayntonce; 4–5 acqueintance, -aunce, acqueyntanse; 6 accoynt-, acquent-, acquayntaunce; 6– acquaintance. North.: 4–5 aquentance; 5 aqweyntans, -ance, acqueyntawns. Aphet.: 3–4 queyntance; 5–6 quayntaunce; 6–7 quentance. [a. OFr. acointance, 15th c. accointance, n. of action, f. acointer. See ACQUAINT v. and -NCE.]

  1.  Personal knowledge; knowledge of a person or thing gained by intercourse or experience, which is more than mere recognition, and less than familiarity or intimacy. Const. with (of obs.).

1393.  Gower, Conf., I. 212. Deth comend er he besought Toke with this king such acqueintaunce.

c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, v. 1865. He has no knowlage, ne acoyntaunse of my cors.

1480.  Caxton, Chron. Eng., iv. (1520), 36/2. Vortiger … thought prevely in his herte thrughe quayntaunce for to be kynge hym selfe.

1595.  Shaks., John, V. vi. 15. Pardon me, That any accent breaking from thy tongue, Should scape the true acquaintance of mine eare.

1675.  Crowne, Country Wit, IV. 61. What would this fellow have? who let him in without my acquaintance?

1756.  Burke, Subl. & B., Wks. I. 164. Knowledge and acquaintance make the most striking causes affect but little.

1875.  Bryce, Holy Rom. Emp., vii. (ed. 5), 116. An acquaintance with those works themselves such as only minute and long-continued study could give.

  To take acquaintance of, with: to acquaint oneself with (Obs.); = mod. to make the acquaintance of, form an acquaintance with.

a. 1450.  Knt. de la Tour, 55. Eue … toke aqueintaunce lightly of the serpent.

1490.  Caxton, Eneydos, x. 40. He toke grete acqueyntaunce and ofte repayred vnto the palays.

1509.  Hawes, Past. Pl., XXX. xii. I toke acquaintaunce of her excellence.

1647.  Crashaw, Poems, 208. For who so hard, but, passing by that way, Will take acquaintance of my woes.

1860.  Tyndall, Glaciers, I. § 6. 43. We spent a day or two in making the general acquaintance of the glacier.

  2.  The state of being acquainted, or of knowing people and being known by them; mutual knowledge. Const. with (of obs.), obj. gen. as ‘her acquaintance’; reciprocal gen. as ‘our acquaintance.’

c. 1300.  K. Alis., 6173. Queyntaunce of al men they schoneth. Ibid., 7259. For acqueyntaunce that hath beon … heom bytweone.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, II. 167. Thusgat maid thai thar aquentance.

c. 1386.  Chaucer, Freres T., 42. For here acqueintaunce was not come of newe.

c. 1400.  Rom. Rose, 6493. I love bettir the queyntaunce, Ten tyme, of the kyng of Fraunce.

c. 1425.  Wyntoun, Cron., VI. xviii. 64. In swylk a-qweyntans swa þai fell.

1514.  Barclay, Cytezen & Uplondyshm. (1847), 62. For olde acquayntance betwene them erst had bene.

1530.  Rastell, Purgatory, Prol. Of old famylyer accoyntaunce.

1590.  Shaks., Mids. N., III. i. 185. I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good Master Cobweb.

1603.  Philotus, 41. To mak mair quentance vs betwene, I glaidly could agrie.

1611.  Bible, 2 Macc. vi. 21. The olde acquaintance they had with the man.

1773.  Goldsm., She Stoops to Conq., II. i. (1854), 36. Give me leave to introduce Miss Neville to your acquaintance.

1822.  Byron, Werner, I. i. Let’s have some wine, and drink unto Our better acquaintance.

1838.  Dickens, Nich. Nick., xxx. (C.D. ed.), 244. Those who had not the honour of his acquaintance.

  3.  A person or persons with whom one is acquainted. (Originally a collective noun, with both sing. and pl. sense, but now usually singular, with pl. acquaintances.)

c. 1386.  Chaucer (6-text MSS.), Sompn. T., 283. Ne make thyne aqueyntance nat for to flee [3 MSS. acquaintances, Harl. MS. acqueyntis].

c. 1525.  Skelton, Bowge of Courte, 45. There coude I none aquentaunce fynde.

1526.  Tindale, Luke ii. 44. Sought him amonge their kynsfolke and acquayntaunce [Wyclif knowleche].

1532.  More, Confut. Tindale, Wks. 1557, 702/2. He was his acquaintaunce and familyar.

1596.  Shaks., 1 Hen. IV., V. iv. 102. What? Old Acquaintance? Could not all this flesh Keepe in a little life?

1663.  Cowley, Verses & Ess., 89 (1669). Now meditate alone, now with Acquaintance talk.

1788.  Burns, Auld Lang Syne, 1.

a. 1794.  Gibbon, Miscell. Wks., 1814, II. 96. If among a crowd of acquaintances, one friend can afford you any comfort.

1816.  Miss Austen, Emma, I. iii. 17. The acquaintance she had already formed were unworthy of her.

1861.  Geo. Eliot, Silas Marner, 31. He might meet some acquaintance in whose eyes he would cut a pitiable figure.