the.com/acquaintance
a friend you haven't decided to trust yet, lingering politely in your social waiting room
means a person you know slightly or somewhat, but who isn't a close friend.
from From Old French acointance, built on the verb acointier, 'to make known,' which traces back to Latin accognoscere — ad- ('to') plus cognoscere ('to know,' the same root behind 'recognize' and 'cognition'). So baked right into the word is the idea of someone you've merely come to know, not someone you've come to love.
- old meaning
- once meant deep personal knowledge, not casual hellos
- Dunbar limit
- brains cap stable acquaintances around 500 people
- weak ties
- acquaintances land you more jobs than close friends
- auld lang syne
- the song literally asks if old acquaintances should be forgotten