to come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own:
to acquire property.
2.
to gain for oneself through one's actions or efforts:
to acquire learning.
3.
Linguistics. to achieve native or nativelike command of (a language or a linguistic rule or element).
4.
Military. to locate and track (a moving target) with a detector, as radar.
Origin
1400-50; < Latinacquīrere to add to one's possessions, acquire (ac-ac- + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere to search for, obtain); replacing late Middle Englishaquere < Middle Frenchaquerre < Latin
Related forms
acquirable, adjective
acquirability, noun
acquirer, noun
preacquire, verb, preacquired, preacquiring.
reacquire, verb (used with object), reacquired, reacquiring.
C15: via Old French from Latin acquīrere, from ad- in addition + quaerere to get, seek
Word Origin and History for acquire
v.
mid-15c., acqueren, from Old French aquerre "acquire, gain, earn, procure," from Vulgar Latin *acquaerere, from Latin acquirere "to seek in addition to" (see acquisition). Reborrowed in current form from Latin c.1600. Related: Acquired; acquiring.