Acorn A"corn noun [ Anglo-Saxon æcern , from æcer field, acre; akin to Dutch aker acorn, German ecker , Icelandic akarn , Danish agern , Goth. akran fruit, akrs field; -- orig. fruit of the field. See Acre .] 1. The fruit of the oak, being an oval nut growing in a woody cup or cupule.

2. (Nautical) A cone-shaped piece of wood on the point of the spindle above the vane, on the mast-head.

3. (Zoology) See Acorn- shell .

Acorn cup A"corn cup The involucre or cup in which the acorn is fixed.

Acorn-shell A"corn-shell` noun (Zoology) One of the sessile cirripeds; a barnacle of the genus Balanus . See Barnacle .

Acorned A"corned adjective 1. Furnished or loaded with acorns.

2. Fed or filled with acorns. [ R.] Shak.

Acosmism A·cos"mism noun [ Greek 'a priv. + ... world.] A denial of the existence of the universe as distinct from God.

Acosmist A·cos"mist noun [ See Acosmism .] One who denies the existence of the universe, or of a universe as distinct from God. G. H. Lewes.

Acotyledon A·cot`y·le"don (#; 277) noun [ Greek 'a priv. + ... anything cup-shaped. See Cotyledon .] (Botany) A plant which has no cotyledons, as the dodder and all flowerless plants.

Acotyledonous A·cot`y·led"on·ous (#; 277) adjective Having no seed lobes, as the dodder; also applied to plants which have no true seeds, as ferns, mosses, etc.

Acouchy A·cou"chy noun [ French acouchi , from the native name Guiana.] (Zoology) A small species of agouti ( Dasyprocta acouchy ).

Acoumeter A·cou"me·ter noun [ Greek ... to hear + -meter .] (Physics.) An instrument for measuring the acuteness of the sense of hearing. Itard.

Acoumetry A·cou"me·try noun [ Greek ... to hear + -metry .] The measuring of the power or extent of hearing.

Acoustic A·cous"tic (#; 277) adjective [ French acoustique , Greek ... relating to hearing, from ... to hear.] Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds; auditory.

Acoustic duct , the auditory duct, or external passage of the ear. -- Acoustic telegraph , a telegraph making audible signals; a telephone. -- Acoustic vessels , brazen tubes or vessels, shaped like a bell, used in ancient theaters to propel the voices of the actors, so as to render them audible to a great distance.

Acoustic A·cous"tic noun A medicine or agent to assist hearing.

Acoustical A·cous"tic·al adjective Of or pertaining to acoustics.

Acoustically A·cous"tic·al·ly adverb In relation to sound or to hearing. Tyndall.

Acoustician Ac`ous·ti"cian noun One versed in acoustics. Tyndall.

Acoustics A·cous"tics (#; 277) noun [ Names of sciences in -ics , as, acoustics , mathematics , etc., are usually treated as singular. See -ics .] (Physics.) The science of sounds, teaching their nature, phenomena, and laws.

Acoustics , then, or the science of sound, is a very considerable branch of physics.
Sir J. Herschel.

» The science is, by some writers, divided, into diacoustics , which explains the properties of sounds coming directly from the ear; and catacoustica , which treats of reflected sounds or echoes.

Acquaint Ac·quaint" adjective [ Old French acoint . See Acquaint , transitive verb ] Acquainted. [ Obsolete]

Acquaint Ac·quaint" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Acquainted ; present participle & verbal noun Acquainting .] [ Middle English aqueinten , acointen , Old French acointier , Late Latin adcognitare , from Latin ad + cognitus , past participle of cognoscere to know; con- + noscere to know. See Quaint , Know .] 1. 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.
Locke.

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Isa. liii. 3.

2. 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.
Shak.

I must acquaint you that I have received
New dated letters from Northumberland.
Shak.

3. To familiarize; to accustom. [ Obsolete] Evelyn.

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.

Syn. -- To inform; apprise; communicate; advise.

Acquaintable Ac·quaint"a·ble adjective [ Confer Old French acointable ]. Easy to be acquainted with; affable. [ Obsolete] Rom. of R.

Acquaintance Ac·quaint"ance noun [ Middle English aqueintance , Old French acointance , from acointier . See Acquaint .] 1. A state of being acquainted, or of having intimate, or more than slight or superficial, knowledge; personal knowledge gained by intercourse short of that of friendship or intimacy; as, I know the man; but have no acquaintance with him.

Contract no friendship, or even acquaintance , with a guileful man.
Sir W. Jones.

2. A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.

Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson.
Macaulay.

» In this sense the collective term acquaintance was formerly both singular and plural, but it is now commonly singular, and has the regular plural acquaintances .

To be of acquaintance , to be intimate. -- To take acquaintance of or with , to make the acquaintance of. [ Obsolete]

Syn. -- Familiarity; intimacy; fellowship; knowledge. -- Acquaintance , Familiarity , Intimacy . These words mark different degrees of closeness in social intercourse. Acquaintance arises from occasional intercourse; as, our acquaintance has been a brief one. We can speak of a slight or an intimate acquaintance . Familiarity is the result of continued acquaintance . It springs from persons being frequently together, so as to wear off all restraint and reserve; as, the familiarity of old companions. Intimacy is the result of close connection, and the freest interchange of thought; as, the intimacy of established friendship.

Our admiration of a famous man lessens upon our nearer acquaintance with him.
Addison.

We contract at last such a familiarity with them as makes it difficult and irksome for us to call off our minds.
Atterbury.

It is in our power to confine our friendships and intimacies to men of virtue.
Rogers.

Acquaintanceship Ac·quaint"ance·ship noun A state of being acquainted; acquaintance. Southey.

Acquaintant Ac·quaint"ant noun [ Confer French acointant , present participle] An acquaintance. [ R.] Swift.

Acquainted Ac·quaint"ed adjective Personally known; familiar. See To be acquainted with , under Acquaint , transitive verb

Acquaintedness Ac·quaint"ed·ness noun State of being acquainted; degree of acquaintance. [ R.] Boyle.

Acquest Ac·quest" noun [ Old French aquest , French acquêt , from Late Latin acquestum , acquisītum , for Latin acquisītum , past participle (used substantively) of acquirere to acquire. See Acquire .]

1. Acquisition; the thing gained. [ R.] Bacon.

2. (Law) Property acquired by purchase, gift, or otherwise than by inheritance. Bouvier.

Acquiesce Ac`qui·esce" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Acquiesced ; present participle & verbal noun Acquiescing ] [ Latin acquiescere ; ad + quiescere to be quiet, from quies rest: confer French acquiescer . See Quiet .] 1. To rest satisfied, or apparently satisfied, or to rest without opposition and discontent (usually implying previous opposition or discontent); to accept or consent by silence or by omitting to object; -- followed by in , formerly also by with and to .

They were compelled to acquiesce in a government which they did not regard as just.
De Quincey.

2. To concur upon conviction; as, to acquiesce in an opinion; to assent to; usually, to concur, not heartily but so far as to forbear opposition.

Syn. -- To submit; comply; yield; assent; agree; consent; accede; concur; conform; accept tacitly.

Acquiescence Ac`qui·es"cence noun [ Confer French acquiescence .] 1. A silent or passive assent or submission, or a submission with apparent content; -- distinguished from avowed consent on the one hand, and on the other, from opposition or open discontent; quiet satisfaction.

2. (Crim. Law) (a) Submission to an injury by the party injured. (b) Tacit concurrence in the action of another. Wharton.

Acquiescency Ac`qui·es"cen·cy noun The quality of being acquiescent; acquiescence.

Acquiescent Ac`qui·es"cent adjective [ Latin acquiescens , -centis ; present participle] Resting satisfied or submissive; disposed tacitly to submit; assentive; as, an acquiescent policy.

Acquiescently Ac`qui·es"cent·ly adverb In an acquiescent manner.

Acquiet Ac·qui"et transitive verb [ Late Latin acquietare ; Latin ad + quies rest. See Quiet and confer Acquit .] To quiet. [ Obsolete]

Acquiet his mind from stirring you against your own peace.
Sir A. Sherley.

Acquirability Ac·quir"a·bil"i·ty noun The quality of being acquirable; attainableness. [ R.] Paley.

Acquirable Ac·quir"a·ble adjective Capable of being acquired.

Acquire Ac·quire" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Acquired ; present participle & verbal noun Acquiring ] [ Latin acquirere , acquisitum ; ad + quarere to seek for. In Middle English was a verb aqueren , from the same, through Old French aquerre . See Quest ..] To gain, usually by one's own exertions; to get as one's own; as, to acquire a title, riches, knowledge, skill, good or bad habits.

No virtue is acquired in an instant, but step by step.
Barrow.

Descent is the title whereby a man, on the death of his ancestor, acquires his estate, by right of representation, as his heir at law.
Blackstone.

Syn. -- To obtain; gain; attain; procure; win; earn; secure. See Obtain .

Acquirement Ac·quire"ment (-m e nt) noun The act of acquiring, or that which is acquired; attainment. "Rules for the acquirement of a taste." Addison.

His acquirements by industry were . . . enriched and enlarged by many excellent endowments of nature.
Hayward.

Syn. -- Acquisition , Acquirement . Acquirement is used in opposition to a natural gift or talent; as, eloquence, and skill in music and painting, are acquirements ; genius is the gift or endowment of nature. It denotes especially personal attainments, in opposition to material or external things gained, which are more usually called acquisitions ; but this distinction is not always observed.

Acquirer Ac·quir"er noun A person who acquires.

Acquiry Ac·quir"y noun Acquirement. [ Obsolete] Barrow.

Acquisite Ac"qui·site adjective [ Latin acquisitus , past participle of acquirere . See Acquire .] Acquired. [ Obsolete] Burton.

Acquisition Ac`qui·si"tion noun [ Latin acquisitio , from acquirere : confer French acquisition . See Acquire .] 1. The act or process of acquiring.

The acquisition or loss of a province.
Macaulay.

2. The thing acquired or gained; an acquirement; a gain; as, learning is an acquisition .

Syn. -- See Acquirement .

Acquisitive Ac·quis"i·tive adjective 1. Acquired. [ Obsolete]

He died not in his acquisitive , but in his native soil.
Wotton.

2. Able or disposed to make acquisitions; acquiring; as, an acquisitive person or disposition.

Acquisitively Ac·quis"i·tive·ly adverb In the way of acquisition.

Acquisitiveness Ac·quis"i·tive·ness noun 1. The quality of being acquisitive; propensity to acquire property; desire of possession.

2. (Phren.) The faculty to which the phrenologists attribute the desire of acquiring and possessing. Combe.

Acquisitor Ac·quis"i·tor noun One who acquires.

Acquist Ac·quist" noun [ Confer Acquest .] Acquisition; gain. Milton.

Acquit Ac·quit" past participle Acquitted; set free; rid of. [ Archaic] Shak.

Acquit Ac·quit" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Acquitted ; present participle & verbal noun Acquitting .] [ Middle English aquiten , Old French aquiter , French acquitter ; ... (L. ad ) + Old French quiter , French quitter , to quit. See Quit , and confer Acquiet .] 1. To discharge, as a claim or debt; to clear off; to pay off; to requite.

A responsibility that can never be absolutely acquitted .
I. Taylor.

2. To pay for; to atone for. [ Obsolete] Shak.

3. To set free, release or discharge from an obligation, duty, liability, burden, or from an accusation or charge; -- now followed by of before the charge, formerly by from ; as, the jury acquitted the prisoner; we acquit a man of evil intentions.

4. Reflexively: (a) To clear one's self. Shak. (b) To bear or conduct one's self; to perform one's part; as, the soldier acquitted himself well in battle; the orator acquitted himself very poorly.

Syn. -- To absolve; clear; exonerate; exonerate; exculpate; release; discharge. See Absolve .

Acquitment Ac·quit"ment (-m e nt) noun [ Confer Old French aquitement .] Acquittal. [ Obsolete] Milton.

Acquittal Ac·quit"tal noun 1. The act of acquitting; discharge from debt or obligation; acquittance.

2. (Law) A setting free, or deliverance from the charge of an offense, by verdict of a jury or sentence of a court. Bouvier.

Acquittance Ac·quit"tance noun [ Old French aquitance , from aquiter . See Acquit .] 1. The clearing off of debt or obligation; a release or discharge from debt or other liability.

2. A writing which is evidence of a discharge; a receipt in full, which bars a further demand.

You can produce acquittances
For such a sum, from special officers.
Shak.

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