acquirements

Acquirements is the plural form of acquirement, a noun that historically denotes the act of acquiring something or something that has been acquired. In older English, acquirement could refer to a skill, knowledge, property, or status gained through effort, learning, or purchase. The plural acquirements appears mainly in historical or literary texts; in contemporary usage, writers typically prefer terms such as attainment, acquisition, or the acquired item itself.

In legal and historical contexts, acquirement can refer to rights or titles obtained by grant, sale, inheritance, or conquest rather than possessions already possessed. Etymologically, acquirement derives from the verb acquire, which comes from Latin acquirere via Old French acquérir, with the noun-forming suffix -ment. The plural acquirements is now relatively rare outside specialized or archaic writing.

Examples of use are more common in older prose or scholarly works. For instance, one might encounter phrases like “Her acquirements in mathematics were evident,” or “the acquirements of the estate were expanded through marriage and alliance.” In modern prose, clearer alternatives such as acquisitions, attainments, or the acquired skills or properties are generally preferred.

See also: acquisition, attainment, acquire, attainment, acquisitive, acquisitions.