English
attain
Attain comes from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- ‘to grasp’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to grasp’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEattingere
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*attangerereconstructed
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400ataindre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500atteinen
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1513attain
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to grasp’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEattingere
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*attangerereconstructed
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400ataindre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500atteinen
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1513attain
Earliest quotation: c. 1513, Thomas More, The History of King Richard the Thirde (Vnfinished) […]: “[K]ing Edwarde [IV] returned, and wͭ much leſſe nũber…”
The story
The verb is derived from Middle English atteinen, atteynen (‘to achieve, attain; to be adequate or sufficient; to affect; to come or get to (a place), reach; to corrupt, taint; to overcome, overpower; to overtake; to succeed; to tamper with; (law) to bring to justice, punish’), from ataign-, a stem of Anglo-Norman ataindre, and Old French ataindre, attaindre (‘to reach’) (modern French atteindre), from Vulgar Latin *attangere, from Latin attingere, the present active infinitive of attingō (‘to come into contact with, touch; to affect; to arrive at, reach; etc.’), from ad- (prefix indicating a nearing or reaching) (appearing as at- due to assimilation with the following t, inducing gemination) + tangō (‘to grasp, touch; to arrive at, reach; to attain; etc.’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (‘to grasp; to touch’)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- ‘to grasp’
contact, taste, integrity, contingent, tangible, integrate, tame, taxis, contiguous, tangent, tactile, taxonomy, contagion, tact, talon, tama, contaminate, talus, thwack, ataxia, 30 more
Today it means
verb To come to or reach (a place) by motion or progression.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- / attain