preacquaint

present singular third person preacquaints · participle present preacquainting · participle past preacquainted · past preacquainted · alternative pre-acquaint

1. transitiveTo acquaint beforehand.

   1633, James Shirley, The Witty Fair One, London: William Cooke, Act I, Scene 1, Wor[thy]. […] You haue not made your loue knowne to my Neece yet. Aym[well]. No, my intention was to preacquaint you.

   3 more examples

   [S]he inadvertently confirmed many Hints, vvith vvhich Slipſlop, vvhoſe Gallant he vvas, had pre-acquainted him; […]

   1742, Henry Fielding, “What Past between the Lady and Lawyer Scout”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume II, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book IV, pages 188–189

   Those things which have been previously stated, or which are necessarily implied, or with which we presume our hearers to have been preacquainted, we pronounce with such a subordination of stress as is suitable to the small importance of things already understood […]

   1878, Alexander Melville Bell, The Principles of Elocution, Salem, Massachusetts: James P. Burbank, Introduction, p. xx

   1969, Tibor Agoston, Insight Therapy, State of Ohio Department of Mental Hygiene and Correction, Part 4, Chapter 110, p. 215, […] we may describe differential dynamics as a gallery of disease patterns that may preacquaint the therapist with the picture which is likely to emerge when all the pieces are fitted together.