acquirement

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English

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Etymology

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From acquire +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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;  [], →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; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. [], volumes (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

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Derived terms

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