Etymology

acquit

ac·quit
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Today it means: To declare or find innocent or not guilty. Full definition →

Middle English aquī̆ten ← Old French aquiter ← Medieval Latin acquitāre
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · derived fromacquitāre“to settle a debt”
  2. Old French · derived fromaquiter“to act, do”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromaquī̆ten“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)”
  4. English todayacquit

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.