Link Centre Dictionary

acquit

ac·quit

US/əˈkwɪt/ uncommon archaic obsolete rare

verb

1.

pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

  • “The suspect was cleared of the murder charges”
2.

behave in a certain manner

  • “She carried herself well”
  • “he bore himself with dignity”
  • “They conducted themselves well during these difficult times”

Origin

From Middle English aquī̆ten (“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 acquitāre (“to settle a debt”), from ad- (“to”) + quitare (“to free”), equivalent to a- + quit. Doublet of acquiet; also related to quit, quiet and acquiesce.

Phrases

  • autrefois acquit
  • let off

Related words

Broader terms

Related verbs

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.