The Collaborative Dictionary

Acquaintance \Ac*quaint"ance\, n. [OE. aqueintance, OF. acointance, fr. acointier. See Acquaint.]

A state of being acquainted, or of having intimate, or more than slight or superficial, knowledge; personal knowledge gained by intercourse short of that of friendship or intimacy; as, I know the man; but have no acquaintance with him. [1913 Webster] Contract no friendship, or even acquaintance, with a guileful man. --Sir W. Jones. [1913 Webster]

A person or persons with whom one is acquainted. [1913 Webster] Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] Note: In this sense the collective term acquaintance was formerly both singular and plural, but it is now commonly singular, and has the regular plural acquaintances. [1913 Webster] To be of acquaintance, to be intimate. To take acquaintance of or with, to make the acquaintance of. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Syn: Familiarity; intimacy; fellowship; knowledge. Usage: Acquaintance, Familiarity, Intimacy. These words mark different degrees of closeness in social intercourse. Acquaintance arises from occasional intercourse; as, our acquaintance has been a brief one. We can speak of a slight or an intimate acquaintance. Familiarity is the result of continued acquaintance. It springs from persons being frequently together, so as to wear off all restraint and reserve; as, the familiarity of old companions. Intimacy is the result of close connection, and the freest interchange of thought; as, the intimacy of established friendship. [1913 Webster] Our admiration of a famous man lessens upon our nearer acquaintance with him. --Addison. [1913 Webster] We contract at last such a familiarity with them as makes it difficult and irksome for us to call off our minds. --Atterbury. [1913 Webster] It is in our power to confine our friendships and intimacies to men of virtue. --Rogers. [1913 Webster]

Accredit \Ac*cred"it\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accredited; p. pr. & vb. n. Accrediting.] [F. accr['e]diter; [`a] (L. ad) + cr['e]dit credit. See Credit.]

To put or bring into credit; to invest with credit or authority; to sanction. [1913 Webster] His censure will . . . accredit his praises. --Cowper. [1913 Webster] These reasons . . . which accredit and fortify mine opinion. --Shelton. [1913 Webster]

To send with letters credential, as an ambassador, envoy, or diplomatic agent; to authorize, as a messenger or delegate. [1913 Webster] Beton . . . was accredited to the Court of France. --Froude. [1913 Webster]

To believe; to credit; to put trust in. [1913 Webster] The version of early Roman history which was accredited in the fifth century. --Sir G. C. Lewis. [1913 Webster] He accredited and repeated stories of apparitions and witchcraft. --Southey. [1913 Webster]

To credit; to vouch for or consider (some one) as doing something, or (something) as belonging to some one. [1913 Webster] To accredit (one) with (something), to attribute something to him; as, Mr. Clay was accredited with these views; they accredit him with a wise saying. [1913 Webster]

With \With\, n. See Withe. [1913 Webster]

With \With\, prep. [OE. with, AS. wi? with, against; akin to AS. wi?er against, OFries. with, OS. wi?, wi?ar, D. weder, we[^e]r (in comp.), G. wider against, wieder gain, OHG. widar again, against, Icel. vi? against, with, by, at, Sw. vid at, by, Dan. ved, Goth. wipra against, Skr. vi asunder. Cf. Withdraw, Withers, Withstand.] With denotes or expresses some situation or relation of nearness, proximity, association, connection, or the like. It is used especially: [1913 Webster]

To denote a close or direct relation of opposition or hostility; -- equivalent to against. [1913 Webster] Thy servant will . . . fight with this Philistine. --1 Sam. xvii.

[1913 Webster] Note: In this sense, common in Old English, it is now obsolete except in a few compounds; as, withhold; withstand; and after the verbs fight, contend, struggle, and the like. [1913 Webster]

To denote association in respect of situation or environment; hence, among; in the company of. [1913 Webster] I will buy with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following; but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you. --Shak. [1913 Webster] Pity your own, or pity our estate, Nor twist our fortunes with your sinking fate. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] See where on earth the flowery glories lie; With her they flourished, and with her they die. --Pope. [1913 Webster] There is no living with thee nor without thee. --Tatler. [1913 Webster] Such arguments had invincible force with those pagan philosophers. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

To denote a connection of friendship, support, alliance, assistance, countenance, etc.; hence, on the side of. [1913 Webster] Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee. --Gen. xxvi.

[1913 Webster]

To denote the accomplishment of cause, means, instrument, etc; -- sometimes equivalent to by. [1913 Webster] That with these fowls I be all to-rent. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Thou wilt be like a lover presently, And tire the hearer with a book of words. --Shak. [1913 Webster] [He] entertained a coffeehouse with the following narrative. --Addison. [1913 Webster] With receiving your friends within and amusing them without, you lead a good, pleasant, bustling life of it. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]

To denote association in thought, as for comparison or contrast. [1913 Webster] Can blazing carbuncles with her compare. --Sandys. [1913 Webster]

To denote simultaneous happening, or immediate succession or consequence. [1913 Webster] With that she told me . . . that she would hide no truth from me. --Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] With her they flourished, and with her they die. --Pope. [1913 Webster] With this he pointed to his face. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

To denote having as a possession or an appendage; as, the firmament with its stars; a bride with a large fortune. "A maid with clean hands." --Shak. [1913 Webster] Note: With and by are closely allied in many of their uses, and it is not easy to lay down a rule by which to distinguish their uses. See the Note under By. [1913 Webster]

Withe \Withe\ (?; 277), n. [OE. withe. ????. See Withy, n.] [Written also with.] [1913 Webster]

A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band; a willow or osier twig; a withy. [1913 Webster]

A band consisting of a twig twisted. [1913 Webster]

(Naut.) An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured; a wythe. --R. H. Dana, Jr. [1913 Webster]

(Arch.) A partition between flues in a chimney. [1913 Webster]

Moby Thesaurus

about, added to, along with, amid, amidst, among, amongst, as well as, at, at all costs, at any cost, attended by, by, by dint of, by means of, by use of, by virtue of, by way of, coupled with, despite, even with, for, from, hereby, herewith, in, in addition to, in agreement with, in association with, in company with, in conjunction with, in cooperation with, in despite of, in favor of, in keeping with, in line with, in spite of, in there with, in virtue of, including, inclusive of, irregardless, irrespective of, let alone, linked to, mid, midst, near, next to, not to mention, on, over and above, partnered with, per, plus, pro, regardless, regardless of, regardless of cost, right with, spite of, thanks to, thereby, therewith, through, to, together on, together with, toward, upon, via, whereby, wherewith, wherewithal

English

Etymology

From Old English wiþ ("against, opposite, toward"), a shortened form of wiþer, from Proto-Germanic withr ("against"), from Proto-Indo-European *wi-tero- ("more apart"); from the PIE base wi ("separation"). Cognate with German lang=de and lang=de, Dutch lang=nl. In Middle English, the word shifted to denote association rather than opposition.

Pronunciation

• qualifier preconsonantal /wɪθ/, /wIT/
• qualifier prevocalic /wɪð/, /wID/
• Rhymes with: -ɪθ,

Preposition

with (abbreviation: w/)

1. against

   He picked a fight with the class bully.

   • 1621, John Smith, The Proceedings of the English Colony in Virginia [http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/john_smith.html ] - Many hatchets, knives, & pieces of iron, & brass, we see, which they reported to have from the Sasquesahanocks a mighty people, and mortal enemies with the Massawomecks
2. in the company of; alongside, along side of; close to; near to:

   He went with his friends.

3. in addition to; as an accessory to:

   a motorcycle with a sidecar

4. in support of:

   We are with you all the way.

5. To denote the accomplishment of cause, means, instrument, etc; -- sometimes equivalent to by.

   ...slain with robbers...

   • 1300s?: Political, Religious and Love Poems, "An A B C Poem on the Passion of Christ", ed. Frederick James Furnivall, 1866 - Al þus with iewys I am dyth, I seme a wyrm to manus syth.
   • , 266 -Ysiphile, betrayed with Jasoun, / Maketh of your trouthe neyther boost ne soun;
   • c1460: Merlin, or the Early History of King Arthur, ed. Henry Benjamin Wheatley, 1875 - And so it was comaunded to be kept with x noble men; and thei were charge to take goode hede who com to assaien, and yef eny ther were that myght drawen out of the ston.
   • , V-ii - He was torn to / pieces with a bear:
   • 1630, John Smith, Travels of Captaine John Smith, 1907 edition, Vol. II, p. 42 - At Flowers we were againe chased with foure French men of warre
   • 1669, Nathaniel Morton, New England's Memorial - He was sick and lame of the scurvy, so as he could but lie in the cabin-door, and give direction, and, it should seem, was badly assisted either with mate or mariners
6. as an instrument; by means of

   ...cut with a knife.

   • 1430?: "The Love of Jesus" in Hymns to the Virgin and Christ, ed. Frederick James Furnivall, 1867, p.26 - Þirle my soule with þi spere anoon,
   • 1619, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, A King and no King, Act IV - you have paid me equal, Heavens, / And sent my own rod to correct me with
   • 1620, William Bradford. Of Plymouth Plantation'' [http://narcissus.umd.edu:8080/eada/html/display.jsp?docs=bradford_history.xml&action=show ] - They had cut of his head upon the cudy of his boat had not the man reskued him with a sword,
   • 1677, William Wycherley, The plain-dealer. Prologue - And keep each other company in spite, / As rivals in your common mistress, fame, / And with faint praises one another damn;
7. as nourishment, more recently replaced by on
   • , IV-iii - I am fain to dine and sup with''' water and bran

Antonyms

• without

Translations