Acquiring

How to spell acquiring

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce acquiring

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does acquiring mean?

1. verbIn the process of coming to own, gain, or develop something, such as property, skills, or knowledge.

Acquiring in a sentence

• The company is acquiring a smaller rival to expand its market share.

• She spent the year acquiring the technical skills needed for the new role.

Where does acquiring come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb acquirere, which meant 'to gain in addition' or 'to get for oneself'. It was formed from the prefix ad-, meaning 'to' or 'toward' (here softened to ac- before the c sound), joined to quaerere, meaning 'to seek, ask, or strive after'. English took the verb in through Old French aquerre and later refined the spelling back toward its Latin shape, restoring the c that the French had dropped. That same quaerere root sits inside a large family of English words, including 'inquire', 'require', 'question', and 'quest', all of them carrying the idea of seeking. The restored Latin spelling is exactly what traps modern writers: the silent-feeling 'c' and the 'qui' sequence look heavier than they sound, so people often slip into 'aquiring'.

How the word is built

• ac- (variant of ad-: to, toward)
• quir (from Latin quaerere: to seek or gain)
• -ing (present participle ending)