Acquitted

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈkwɪtɪd/

Definitions

1. Found not guilty in a court of law after being charged with an offense
2. Officially cleared of criminal charges following a legal trial
3. Judged by a judge or jury as not having committed the alleged crime

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "acquitted" is how far it has drifted from its original sense. In Middle English, "acquiten" meant to pay back a debt, to redeem a pledge, or to make good on a promise. The legal sense of clearing someone of a charge was only one of many meanings, and it grew out of the idea of settling an account: a person who had discharged what they owed was, in effect, released from the obligation. The verb descends from Medieval Latin "acquitare," meaning "to settle a debt," built from "ad-" ("to") and "quitare" ("to free"). Old French carried it into English as "aquiten," and the same root gives us "quit," "quite," and "quiet." Its doublet, "acquiet," shares the same ancestry but took a different path. Because "acquit" can also mean to behave or conduct oneself in a certain way, English speakers once said someone "acquitted himself well," a sense that survives in modern phrases like "acquitted himself admirably."

Synonyms: cleared, absolved, vindicated

Antonyms: convicted, guilty