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Origin and history of acquittal

acquittal(n.)

early 15c., aquitaille, "payment of debt or retribution;" see acquit + -al (2). Sense of "a release from debt or obligation" is from mid-15c.; that of "freeing from charge or offense" (by legal process) is from 1530s.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to acquittal

acquit(v.)

mid-13c., aquiten, "repay, reciprocate, reward or retaliate for" (a good or bad deed); c. 1300 as "satisfy a debt; redeem (a pledge)," from Old French aquiter, acquiter "pay, pay up, settle a claim" (12c., Modern French acquitter), from a- "to" (see ad-) + quite "free, clear," from Medieval Latin quitus, quittus, from Latin quietus "free" (in Medieval Latin "free from war, debts, etc."), also "calm, resting" (from PIE root *kweie- "to rest, be quiet"). Also in part from Medieval Latin acquitare.

From mid-14c. as "relieve (someone) of an obligation, release from a pledge," hence the meanings "set (an accused person) free from charges, pronounce not guilty," and "discharge one's duty; behave or conduct oneself" (for better or worse), all of which date to late 14c. The notion in the word is "to release or discharge," from an obligation or from accusation, guilt, censure, or suspicion. Related: Acquitted; acquitting.

-al(2)

suffix forming nouns of action from verbs, mostly from Latin and French, meaning "act of ______ing" (such as survival, referral), Middle English -aille, from French feminine singular -aille, from Latin -alia, neuter plural of adjective suffix -alis, also used in English as a noun suffix. Nativized in English and used with Germanic verbs (as in bestowal, betrothal).

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    Trends of acquittal

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    conviction
    mid-15c., "the proving or finding of guilt of an offense charged," from Late Latin convictionem (nominative convictio) "proof, refutation," noun of action from past-participle stem of convincere "to overcome decisively," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + v
    absolution
    ," c. 1200, from Old French absolucion, earlier assolucion, from Latin absolutionem (nominative absolutio) "completion, acquittal...
    witchcraft
    The last, in 1717, ended in acquittal. The Witchcraft Act was repealed 1736....
    Philadelphia
    attorney" is attested from 1788 in London, said originally to have been applied to Andrew Hamilton, who obtained the famous acquittal...
    bunting
    "light woolen stuff loosely woven, flag-material," 1742, of uncertain origin; perhaps from a dialectal survival of Middle English bonting "sifting," verbal noun from bonten "to sift," because cloth was used for sifting grain. The Middle English verb is via Old French, from Vulgar
    seedy
    mid-15c., sēdi, "fruitful, abundant" (Of bounteuousnesse þat hous was ful sedy), from seed (n.) + -y (2). From 1570s as "abounding in seeds." The modern meaning "shabby, no longer fresh or new" is attested by 1725, slang, originally especially "poor, out of money;" probably in re
    obliterate
    "blot out, cause to disappear, remove all traces of, wipe out," c. 1600, from Latin obliteratus, past participle of obliterare "cause to disappear, blot out (a writing), erase, efface," figuratively "cause to be forgotten, blot out a remembrance," from ob "against" (see ob-) + li
    decimate
    c. 1600, "to select by lot and put to death every tenth man," from Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare "the removal or destruction of one-tenth," from decem "ten" (from PIE root *dekm- "ten"). The killing of one in ten, chosen by lots, from a rebellious city or a mutinou
    handsome
    c. 1400, handsom "easy to handle, ready at hand," from hand (n.) + -some (1). Sense extended to "fit, appropriate" (1550s, implied in handsomely), then "having fine form, good-looking, agreeable to the eye" (1580s). Meaning "generous, on a liberal scale" (of rewards, etc.) first
    invest
    late 14c., "to clothe in the official robes of an office," from Latin investire "to clothe in, cover, surround," from in "in, into" (from PIE root *en "in") + vestire "to dress, clothe," from PIE *wes- (2) "to clothe," extended form of root *eu- "to dress." The meaning "use money

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