acquaint

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Middle English aqueinten, acointen < Old French acointier < Late Latin adcognitare < Latin ad + cognitus, past participle of cognoscere (“‘to know’”) < con- + noscere (“‘to know’”). See quaint, know.

[edit] Pronunciation

Rhymes: -eɪnt

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to acquaint

Third person singular
acquaints

Simple past
acquainted

Past participle
acquainted

Present participle
acquainting

to acquaint (third-person singular simple present acquaints, present participle acquainting, simple past and past participle acquainted)

(transitive) To furnish or give experimental knowledge of; to make (one) to know; to make familiar; -- followed by 'with'.

Before a man can speak on any subject, it is necessary to be acquainted with it. -John Locke

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. -Isaiah 53:3
(ditransitive) To communicate notice to; to inform; to make cognizant; -- followed by 'with' (formerly, also, by 'of'), or by 'that', introducing the intelligence; as, to acquaint a friend with the particulars of an act.

Acquaint her here of my son Paris' love. -Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, III-iv

I must acquaint you that I have received New dated letters from Northumberland. -Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II, IV-i
(obsolete, transitive) To familiarize; to accustom.

[edit] Derived terms

To be acquainted with: to be possessed of personal knowledge of; to be cognizant of; to be more or less familiar with; to be on terms of social intercourse with.