different between acquaintance vs lover

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman aquaintaunce, aqueintance, Old French acointance (“friendship, familiarity”), from Old French acointer (“to acquaint”). Compare French accointance.

Morphologically acquaint +? -ance.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??kwe?nt?ns/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??kwe?n.t?ns/

Noun

acquaintance (countable and uncountable, plural acquaintances)

1. (uncountable) A state of being acquainted with a person; originally indicating friendship, intimacy, but now suggesting a slight knowledge less deep than that of friendship; acquaintanceship. [from 12th c.]

   I know of the man; but have no acquaintance with him.

   • 1799, William Jones (translator), Hito'pade'sa, in The Works, Volume 6, page 22:

     Contract no friend?hip, or even acquaintance, with a guileful man : he re?embles a coal, which when hot burneth the hand, and when cold blacketh it.

2. (countable) A person or persons with whom one is acquainted. [from 14th c.]
3. (uncountable) Such people collectively; one's circle of acquaintances (with plural concord). [from 15th c.]
   • 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 2004, p. 230:

     Their mother […] was busy in the mean time in keeping up her connections, as she termed a numerous acquaintance, lest her girls should want a proper introduction into the great world.

4. Personal knowledge (with a specific subject etc.). [from 16th c.]

Usage notes

• Synonym notes: The words acquaintance, familiarity, and intimacy now mark different degrees of closeness in social intercourse. Acquaintance arises from occasional intercourse or interaction; 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".

Synonyms

• familiarity, fellowship, intimacy, knowledge
• See also Thesaurus:acquaintance

Derived terms

• nodding acquaintance
• renew acquaintances

Related terms

• acquaint

Translations

References

• acquaintance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• acquaintance at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English lovere, luffer, lufere, equivalent to love +? -er.

Alternative forms

• lovyer (dialectal or obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?l?v?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?l?v?/
• Hyphenation: lov?er
• Rhymes: -?v?(?)

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. One who loves and cares for another person in a romantic way; a sweetheart, love, soulmate, boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse.

   Synonyms: love, love interest, spouse, sweetheart, significant other; see also Thesaurus:lover
2. A sexual partner, especially one with whom someone is having an affair.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sexual partner

   • 2018 January 17, "Libra Woman: Personality Traits: Love & More", Astrology.com [1]

     A Libra woman seems to always be in love - either with her long term partner or with an ever-changing series of rotating lovers.

3. A person who loves something.

   Synonym: connoisseur
4. (West Country, with "my") An informal term of address for any friend.

Derived terms

• book lover, booklover
• Latin lover
• loverhood
• lover's lane / lovers' lane

Descendants

• ? German: Lover

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. Obsolete form of louver.

Anagrams

• Vlorë

Dutch

Alternative forms

• loover (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch lover, originally the plural of loof. As with other words with plurals in -er, eventually this was substituted with -eren, creating loveren. This new plural was then reanalysed as a separate noun and a new singular form lover was back-formed from it.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lo?.v?r/
• Hyphenation: lo?ver
• Rhymes: -o?v?r

Noun

lover n (plural lovers, diminutive lovertje n)

1. foliage

Synonyms

• gebladerte
• lommer

Anagrams

• vloer

French

Etymology

A 17th century borrowing from North Sea Germanic language verb "lofen, lufen". The 1986 Dictionnaire de l'Académie française identifies the source as Low German (Dutch Low Saxon or German Low German); Jan de Vries' Nederlands Etymologisch Woordenboek (which identifies it as a possible cognate of Dutch leuver) suggests East Frisian instead.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l?.ve/

Verb

lover

1. to coil (a rope or cord), to fake a line
2. (reflexive, of a snake) to coil up, wind up; to curl up

Conjugation

Further reading

• “lover” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• voler

Middle English

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. lover

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

lover m pl

1. indefinite masculine plural of lov

Verb

lover

1. present tense of love

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• lovar m pl

Noun

lover f pl

1. indefinite feminine plural of lov

Etymology 2

Verb

lover

1. present of lova