Dictionary

acquirement en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /əˈkwaɪə(ɹ)mənt/

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.

Meanings

1. (archaic, countable, in-plural, uncountable) Something that has been acquired; an attainment or accomplishment.
   • 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. 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:
   • […] his acquirements by industrie were […] enriched and enlarged by many excellent endowments of nature. 1630, John Hayward, The Life, and Riagne of King Edward the Sixt, London: John Partridge, page 4:
   • […] 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. 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 305:
2. (countable, uncountable) The act or fact of acquiring something; acquisition.
   • […] rules for the acquirement of a taste […] 1712 June 29 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, 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:
   • One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought […]. 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein:
   • At best, a considerable time elapses between authorization and land acquirement, during which land values may vary impredictably. 1952, Annual report of the Chief of Engineers U.S. Army:

Forms

Deriveds

reacquirement

Synonyms

obtainment (act of acquiring) · acquisition (that which is acquired) · procuration (act of acquiring) · acquisition (act of acquiring) · procurement (act of acquiring)