acquirement

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English acquire

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom

Proto-Italic *-mentom

Latin -mentum

Old French -mentbor.

Middle English -ment

English -ment

English acquirement

From acquire + -ment.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈkwaɪə(ɹ)mənt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

acquirement (countable and uncountable, plural acquirements)

1. (now rare, chiefly in the plural) Something that has been acquired; an attainment or accomplishment. [from 17th c.]
   • 1630, John Hayward, The Life, and Riagne of King Edward the Sixt‎^[1], London: John Partridge, page 4:

     […] his acquirements by industrie were […] enriched and enlarged by many excellent endowments of nature.

   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXVII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume I, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 177:

     If she can think, that the part she has had in your education, and your own admirable talents and acquirements, are to be thrown away upon such a worthless creature as Solmes, I could heartily quarrel with her.

   • 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 305:

     […] there was a degree of deference in his deportment toward that young gentleman which seemed to indicate that he felt himself conscious of a slight inferiority in point of genius and professional acquirements.

2. The act or fact of acquiring something; acquisition. [from 17th c.]
   • 1712 June 30 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “THURSDAY, June 19, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 409; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     […] rules for the acquirement of a taste […]

     The spelling has been modernized.

   • 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein:

     One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought […].

   • 1952, Annual report of the Chief of Engineers U.S. Army:

     At best, a considerable time elapses between authorization and land acquirement, during which land values may vary impredictably.

Synonyms

• (that which is acquired): acquisition
• (act of acquiring): acquisition, procuration, procurement, obtainment

Derived terms

• reacquirement