different between requite vs acquit

English

Alternative forms

• (archaic) requit

Etymology

From Middle English requiten (“to repay”), from Old French requiter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???kwa?t/
• Rhymes: -a?t

Verb

requite (third-person singular simple present requites, present participle requiting, simple past and past participle requited)

1. (transitive) To return (usually something figurative) that has been given; to repay; to recompense
   • 1610, Shakespeare, The Tempest, act 3 scene 3

     But, remember—

     For that's my business to you,—that you three

     From Milan did supplant good Prospero;

     Expos'd unto the sea, which hath requit it,

     Him, and his innocent child: for which foul deed

     The powers, delaying, not forgetting, have

     Incens'd the seas and shores, yea, all the creatures,

     Against your peace.

   • 1841, Edgar Allan Poe, A Few Words on Secret Writing

     Good cryptographists are rare indeed; and thus their services, although seldom required, are necessarily well requited.

   • 1937, Willa Muir, Edwin Muir (translators), Franz Kafka, The Trial, Vintage Books (London), published 1983, pg. 91, original published 1925

     He bowed slightly to K.'s uncle, who appeared very flattered to make this new acquaintance, yet, being by nature incapable of expressing obligation, requited the Clerk of the Court's words with a burst of embarrassed but raucous laughter.
2. (intransitive) To retaliate.

Derived terms

• unrequited

Translations

Noun

requite

1. requital

References

• requite in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• requite in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• quieter

English

Etymology

From Middle English aqu??ten (“to give in return; to pay, repay; to redeem (a pledge, security), to make good (a promise); to make amends; to relieve of an obligation; to acquit, clear of a charge; to free; to deprive of; to do one's part, acquit oneself; to act, behave (in a certain way)”), from Old French aquiter (“to act, do”) and Medieval Latin acquit?re (“to settle a debt”), from ad- (“prefix meaning ‘to’”) + quitare (“to free”), equivalent to a- +? quit. See quit and compare acquiet.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: ?-kw?t, IPA^(key): /??kw?t/
• Rhymes: -?t
• Hyphenation: ac?quit

Verb

acquit (third-person singular simple present acquits, present participle acquitting, simple past acquitted, past participle acquitted or (archaic) acquit)

1. (transitive) To declare or find innocent or not guilty.

   Synonyms: absolve, clear, exculpate, exonerate

   Antonyms: condemn, convict
2. (transitive) To discharge (for example, a claim or debt); to clear off, to pay off; to fulfil.
3. (transitive) Followed by of (and formerly by from): to discharge, release, or set free from a burden, duty, liability, or obligation, or from an accusation or charge.
4. (reflexive) To bear or conduct oneself; to perform one's part.
5. (reflexive) To clear oneself.
6. (transitive, archaic) past participle of acquit.
7. (transitive, obsolete) To release, to rescue, to set free.
8. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To pay for; to atone for.

Alternative forms

• acquite (obsolete)

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:acquit

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• acquittal on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• acquit in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914) , “acquit”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, volume I (A–C), revised edition, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., OCLC 1078064371.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ki/

Verb

acquit

1. third-person singular past historic of acquérir