Late Middle English (in an earlier sense). From Anglo-Norman and Middle French aquest, Middle French acquest (French acquêt) thing that has been acquired, action or act of acquiring, gain, profit from an unattested post-classical Latin noun *acquaesitum, use as noun of neuter past participle of an unattested verb *acquaerere, variant (after classical Latin quaerere) of classical Latin acquīrere. Compare post-classical Latin acquestus (u-stem), acquesta.