ACQUAINTANCES
Noun
acquaintances
plural of acquaintance
Source: Wiktionary
ACQUAINTANCE
Ac*quaint"ance, n. Etym: [OE. aqueintance, OF. acointance, fr.
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.
Note: 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.
[Obs.]
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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition