acquisition

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/ (UK); /ˌæk.wɪˈzɪʃ.ən/, /ˌæk.wəˈzɪʃ.ən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English adquisicioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman acquisition or directly borrowed from Latin acquīsītio (“an acquiring”),^[2][3][4] a noun of action from acquīrere (“to get in addition”) (see acquire),^[2][3] from ad- (“to”) and quaerere (“to seek”).^[3] The change of -ae- to -i- follows a Latin rule for unstressed syllables in compounds.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of obtaining: 1387 in the OED,^[5] before 1400 in Barnhart,^[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A thing obtained or gained is from the late 15th century, 1477 in the OED.^[3][5] A welcome addition to a group, such as a new player or a work bought by a museum, follows.^[6][7] The takeover of one company by another is a modern business sense,^[7] and the locating of a target by radar is from 1958.^[5] Acquisitive is from 1637.^[2] In linguistics, language acquisition is the learning of a language.^[7]

Timeline

• 1387 – the act of obtaining.^[5]
• 1477 – a thing acquired.^[5]
• 1637 – acquisitive.^[2]
• 1958 – locating a target by radar.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of acquiring something.
2. Something acquired, especially a valuable addition to a collection or group.
3. The purchase of one company by another; a takeover.
4. The process of locating a target or satellite so as to track it.

Word family

• acquisitional
• acquisitor
• preacquisition
• reacquisition

Related words

• acquire
• acquisitive
• inquisition
• question
• require

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins