Where does “preacquaintance” come from?
preacquaintance (English) comes from English acquaintance, from Middle English aqueyntaunce, from Anglo-Norman aquaintaunce, from Old French acointance, from Old French acointier, from Latin accognitāre, from Latin accognitus, from Latin cognōscō — resin.
preacquaintance (English): Previous acquaintance or knowledge
Definitions
- Previous acquaintance or knowledge
Ancestry of “preacquaintance”, step by step
preacquaintance traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English acquaintance
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | acquaintance | A state of being acquainted with a person;... |
| 2 | Middle English | aqueyntaunce | Friendship, intimacy; social connection or familiarity |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | aquaintaunce | — |
| 4 | Old French | acointance | friendship, familiarity |
| 5 | Old French | acointier | to introduce; to introduce oneself; to get to... |
| 6 | Latin | accognitāre | — |
| 7 | Latin | accognitus | acquainted with |
| 8 | Latin | cognōscō | to learn, to get to know |
| 9 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 10 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 11 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 15 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 16 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 17 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 18 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 19 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
via English pre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pre | Before; Precum, Cowper's fluid, pre-ejaculate; To... |
| 2 | Latin | prae | before; in front; in front of |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | prai | before; in front of |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |