adquirida

Adquirida is the feminine singular form of the past participle of the Spanish verb adquirir. It is used as an adjective to indicate that something has been obtained, gained, or come to be through experience, effort, or circumstance. It agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies; the masculine form is adquirido, and the plural forms are adquiridos (masc.) and adquiridas (fem.).

Common uses include expressions such as conocimiento adquirido (acquired knowledge), experiencia adquirida (acquired experience), inmunidad adquirida (acquired immunity), and condiciones adquiridas (acquired conditions). In medical and scientific contexts, adquirir denotes that a trait, state, or disease is not present at birth but developed later. This contrasts with términos like inmunidad innata or rasgos innatos, which describe inherited or congenital characteristics.

In grammar, adquirida functions as a descriptive modifier and can appear in compound predicates with estar or haber (por ejemplo, la memoria adquirida fue fortalecida), though most often it directly precedes the noun. The term is frequent across fields such as education, medicine, law, and everyday discourse to differentiate learned, gained, or non-native attributes from those that are inherent or natural.

Etymology: adquirir is derived from Latin and spread through Romance languages; adquirida ultimately reflects this lineage as the feminine participial form used in Spanish. Related terms include adquirido (masc.), adquiridos (masc. plur.), y adquisición (noun form meaning acquisition).