What does acquirement mean?
Acquirement is a noun denoting either the act of acquiring something or, more characteristically, a skill or accomplishment gained through sustained effort and learning. The word belongs chiefly to formal and literary registers and is now relatively uncommon, having been largely supplanted by acquisition in everyday speech. Where acquisition tends to describe obtaining things — property, companies, data — acquirement traditionally emphasized cultivated abilities: languages mastered, arts learned, knowledge accumulated. Nineteenth-century writers frequently spoke of someone's 'rare acquirements' or 'polite acquirements' to praise their education and refinement. Today the word survives mainly in older literature and in deliberately elevated prose, where it can lend a period flavor or a note of dignity to the idea of hard-won attainment. For readers encountering it, the safest interpretation is a personal accomplishment achieved through study or practice rather than a possession obtained by purchase or chance.
nounThe act or process of acquiring something; also, a skill or accomplishment that has been gained through effort or learning.
- A skill, accomplishment, or attainment gained through learning or effort.
- The act or process of acquiring something.
"Her fluency in three languages was an acquirement of years of patient study."
"Conversation, in her circle, was counted among the polite acquirements."
"The acquirement of wealth occupied him far more than its enjoyment."
The plural typically refers to multiple skills or accomplishments, especially in older formal writing.
"His acquirements included fencing, Latin, and a passable command of Italian."
Before 'acquisition' took over, Victorian writers proudly listed their 'acquirements' — the skills and accomplishments that marked an educated person.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of acquirement
Acquirement derives from the verb acquire, which English adopted in the late Middle Ages from Old French acquerre, itself descended from Latin acquirere, meaning 'to seek out and obtain', formed from ad- ('toward') + quaerere ('to seek'). The noun acquirement arose in English around the early seventeenth century as a parallel formation to acquisition, which came through the Latin-derived noun acquisitio. Its Latin root quaerere also underlies query, quest, and inquiry, making these distant relatives within the same word family.
How acquirement is actually used
Acquirement is now rare and somewhat old-fashioned or literary; it carries a formal, sometimes slightly stilted tone. In contemporary usage it most often appears in older texts referring to cultivated skills or mental accomplishments. In everyday modern English, acquisition has largely displaced it.
Easily confused with acquirement
Acquisition is the standard modern word for the act of gaining something, while acquirement is a rarer, more formal term that often emphasizes a skill or accomplishment developed through effort.