English → Latin
“acquire” in Latin
parōto arrange, order, contrive, design; to provide, furnish, prepare; to resolve, purpose, decidecomparōto prepare, get ready, provide, furnish; to compare, match, place together, couple, form into pairsquaerōto seek, look for; to ask, question, seek or search for a thing, inquire, query, interrogate; to strive for; endeavor; sacquīrōto acquire or obtain; to acquire or amass riches or money; to accruecolligōto gather, draw, bring or collect (together), assemble, pick up; contract, draw up, compress, concentrate; harvest; to mnancīscorto meet with, stumble on, encounter, acquire, get, reach, find something; to contract, catch; to possess by birth, have adipīscorto arrive at, reach; overtake, catch up with; to get, obtain, acquire, get possession of, achieve, attaincōnsequorto move, travel, come, pass or go after, or follow behind another (in time and/or space); to chase, to pursue, to go aftassequorto follow someone in order to come up to him; pursue, go after; to overtake, come up with, reach, catch up; to gain, obtobtineōto have, occupy, possess, hold, obtain; to preserve, keep, maintain, uphold; persist in; to assert, show, prove, demonst
The English word acquire itself goes back to Latin quaerō, through acquirō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
acquire
parare, comparare (provide, procure by one’s own means): quaerere (obtain by seeking; e.g., livelihood, victum; popularity with the common people, gratiam ad populum; glory, sibi gloriam): acquirere (to obtain what one has striven for): colligere (collect; e.g., good-will, favor, etc.): nancisci (obtain with or without trouble; even against one’s wish): adipisci (to achieve by exertion): consequi (to arrive at the object of one’s wish, with or without assistance): assequi (to arrive by exertion at the object of one’s endeadors): obtinere (to obtain and keep possession). To acquire credit parere sibi laudem: money, pecuniam sibi facere, a man’s friendship, alicujus amicitiam sibi comparare; great influence, magnam auctoritatem sibi constituere; great wealth and reputation, magnas opes sibi magnumque nomen facere; extensive knowledge, *magnas opes eruditionis sibi comparare. To endeavor to acquire, captare aliquid (e.g., popularity, etc.). To acquire strength, se corroborare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for acquire?
- The usual Latin words for “acquire” are parō, comparō, quaerō; also acquīrō, colligō, nancīscor. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.