Difference Between Peer and Acquaintance (With Table)

The term “Peer” arose from the phrase “per,” which is an old French word that was derived from “pár,” a Latin word that means “equal.” In the case of Peer ones, familiarity has already been established. In the case of a peer, the people share a shared basis, which is the primary cause for the formation, re-establishment, and continued bonding of two people. A peer becomes a friend as a result of this process. In the case of peers, there is a high level of trust and caution.

The phrase “acquaintance” arose from the terms “Iaquinta,” a middle English word, and “accountancy,” which means “to make known.” Between acquaintances, there is a comparably lower level of intimacy. However, the link between two groups of people or acquaintances can be developed by regular or occasional encounters. The term “acquaintance” is frequently used to describe persons in a hazy way.

Comparison Table Between Peer and Acquaintance

What is Peer?

Peers are the people who possess some kind of attributes, it might be related to a work field, educational field or industrial field. Peers are the people having a deep sense of friendship, understanding as they share a ground which is common between them.

The ground of similarities acts as a great point of beginning of the interaction between the people. These peers share a bond that is based on the similarity factor based on common grounds.

However, according to vocabulary rules and laws, there are enough variances between these two words to distinguish them from one another. If a person meets people in his or her life, there is a good likelihood that half of the people will be peers and the other half would be acquaintances.

What is Acquaintance?

The majority of the time, the familiarity between the acquaintances develop by the process of acknowledging and remembering the familiarity with the help of an introduction in a party or family get together. With the help of an introduction, which is either formal or informal the long lost bond between two acquaintances or two parties can be re-established.

Having an acquaintance is usually taken into consideration the first stage of any relationship, however specifically friendship. Moreover, the emergence of the relationship with the acquaintance is considered as the point of beginning of any type of interaction, which can either be a stranger or even a peer.

An acquaintance can be seen virtually every day, and so can serve as the start of a variety of different interactions, such as friendship or any other type of relationship. Other terms, such as ally, contact, associate, colleague, and so on, can be used in place of this term. Between acquaintances, there is no such thing as familiarity. It can, however, be re-established following a reconnection or engagement.

Main Differences Between Peer and Acquaintance

1. Those people who share the same attributes or the same standing, are regarded as peers. Some of the similar areas are work, education, industry, status, skills, work, talent and various other factors belonging to similar backgrounds. On the other hand, Acquaintances are those people who are not much close to us. In fact, in an individual’s point of view acquaintances and strangers can be used interchangeably. The reason behind this notion is the lack of proper connection, interaction and personal information.
2. The establishment of familiarity in the case of Peer ones already exists. On the other hand, familiarity does not exist between acquaintances. However, it can be re-established after reconnection or interaction.
3. The emergence of the term, “Peer” occurred from the term “per” which is an old french word which was further emerged from “pár” which is a Latin word possessing the meaning, “equal”. On the other hand, the emergence of the word, acquaintance occurred from the term, “Iaquinta”, which is a middle English word and further from the term, “acointance” which means to make known.
4. In the case of a peer, common ground exists between the people which is the main reason behind the establishment, re-establishment and the ongoing bonding between two people. Through this process, a peer turns into a friend. On the other hand, an acquaintance can be seen almost daily and thus, it might act as a beginning of various other relationships like either friendship or any other type of relationship.
5. In the terms of giving specific descriptions, a peer is considered to possess a more specific and particular description when compared to its counterpart. On the other hand, the term “Acquaintance” is usually considered a vague term for describing people. However, in the place of this term, other terms can also be used, like ally, contact, associate, colleague, etc.
6. The level of trust and wariness in the case of peers is high. On the other hand, the level of wariness and trust in the case of Acquaintance is very low.
7. The point of benefit between the peers is that they have a common ground shared between them which acts as an ignition for interaction. On the other hand, there is a comparatively lesser form of intimacy between acquaintances. However, with the help of regular or occasional interaction, the bond between two sets of people or acquaintances can be established.

Conclusion

Sometimes, the terms like peers and acquaintances are used interchangeably by the layman. However, according to the vocabulary rules and regulations, these two words have enough differences between them to make them different from each other.

Like, on average if a person in his or her life encounters people then there is a fair chance that fifty per cent of the people are peers and the rest fifty per cent are acquaintances. In the case of Acquaintance, the level of suspicion and trust is extremely low. However, on contrary, in the case of Peers, the level of wariness and trust that is shared in between is placed much higher.

References

1. http://eprints.biblio.unitn.it/82/
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273229700905318