Acquaintance or Familiarity or Intimacy

Acquaintance, Familiarity, Intimacy

They all mean closeness to a thing, but they have some degree of closeness. 



What is the meaning of Acquaintance?
Acquaintance is a person that you know a little about, who is not your friend.

1. I met an old acquaintance, who used to be my neighbor.
2. I have just forget the names of all my acquaintances.

Acquaintance means having little knowledge about something specific. 

1. A little acquaintance with computer can make one's life easy.

What is the meaning of Familiarity ?
Familiarity means personal knowledge or information about someone or something. A computer engineer has familiarity with computer programming.

• a close and warm friendship.

Familiarity in sentence:

1. Every students should have a basic familiarity with computers.
2. I have detailed familiarity with English language.

What is the meaning of Intimacy?
Intimacy means a close relationship usually a secret sexual relationship.
Intimacy in sentence:

1. He has developed an intimacy with her girl friend.
2. One should not get in physical intimacy before 18.

What is the difference between these words?
These words means closeness; however, they mark different degrees of closeness.
Acquaintance marks less closeness than familiarity.
Familiarity marks less closeness than intimacy.
Intimacy has the highest degree of closeness in the trio.

These words are also applied to a subject. An acquaintance with a subject means a little knowledge of the subject.
Familiarity with a subject means healthy knowledge about the subject by getting familiar again again with it.
Intimacy with a subject means a full knowledge of the subject through a steady and thorough research about the subject.

According to Etymology:
Acquaintance comes from acquaint, which is compounded of the intensive syllable ac or ad and quaint, in old French coint, meaning known, signifying known to one.
Familiarity comes from familiar, in Latine familiaris and familia, signifying known as "one of the family". 
Intimacy, from intimate, in Latin intimatus, to love entirely, from intimus, meaning innermost, signifies known "to the innermost recesses of the heart".


In  a nutshell
An acquaintance is a person that is not your friend.
Acquaintance with something means knowing very little about them.

Familiarity to somebody means like a family to them.
Familiarity with something means I know the subject as I have met it before.

Intimacy shows a very deep and close relationship with somebody.
Intimacy with a subject shows deep knowledge of it. 

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