Word of the Week – Acquihire

In this month I will be providing you with a variety of new words of our 21st century that Oxford’s online dictionary has taken notice of, and that are derived from popular culture in our digital age. Given their contemporary nature, some of these words may not come with specific historical origins. But that is not entirely the case with today’s word, which is Acquihire (noun) /akwɪˈhʌɪə/. The word acquihire refers to an act or instance of buying out a company primarily for the skills and expertise of its staff, and not just for the products or services it supplies.

Acquihire is an early 21st century English word coined out of a blend between the words acquisition and hire, both of which are Old English words. “The start-ups are being acquihired in a bid to harvest their talent,” is an example of the use of acquihired in a sentence.

Please share this and make suggestions of similarly FUN words you may come across this season. I sure would love to hear from you.

 

Article by Akwasi Addai

Akwasi Addai is a screenwriter, novelist and creative director. An excerpt of his novel: I Am Johnny Green, was chosen as one of the Digibook Africa top 10, you can read it at www.digibookafrica.com.

On a freelance basis, Akwasi Addai has collaborated with various film production companies and written numerous feature assignments in the Ghanaian corporate environment for companies such as Insel Communications, Power Station Ghana, Save the Girl Child Foundation and now Think Active Media. A former student of Ashesi University, he is currently the chief editor of the WeGo Innovate platform.

He is passionate about creativity and education in Ghana, and his vision is to spearhead the new wave of creative forces that are bound to put Ghana on the world stage through the portrayal of our culture.

You can like and follow Akwasi Addai on Twitter @NanaOfori_