Knowing someone or something a little — enough to recognise it, not enough to say you really know it. Think of the shallow end of knowing: you have met, you can nod in the street, but you have not gone deep.
From the word’s history
From Old French acointance 'familiarity, friendship', from acointier 'to make known, to acquaint'. The idea underneath is simply having been made known to someone.
來自古法文 acointance（熟識、往來），源自 acointier「使認識、引見」。所以這個字的底層動作比較像「被引見過」——有人把你介紹給對方，從此你們彼此「知道」了。這就解釋了為什麼它天生停在淺處：被引見只是關係的起點，不保證後面有深交。
Wiktionary, 'acquaintance' (from Middle English aqueyntaunce, from Anglo-Norman/Old French acointance, from acointier 'to acquaint')
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原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
acquaintancenoun/əˈkweɪntəns/
- 1
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.
- I know of the man; but have no acquaintance with him.
- Contract no friendſhip, or even acquaintance, with a guileful man : he reſembles a coal, which when hot burneth the hand, and when cold blacketh it.
- 2
A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.
- Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson.
- 3
Such people collectively; one's circle of acquaintances (with plural concord).
- Having therefore conſulted with my Wife, and ſome of my Acquaintance, I determined to go again to Sea.
- 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.).
- The words of these songs were either without meaning, or derived from an idiom with which Watt, a very fair linguist, had no acquaintance.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。