Where does “attain” come from?
Attain comes from Anglo-Norman ataindre, from Latin attingo meaning to touch or reach, derived from Latin ad- and the root found in Proto-Indo-European h₂éd.
attain (English): To gain; To reach or come to, by progression or...
Definitions
- To gain; To reach or come to, by progression or...
Ancestry of “attain”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | atteinen | — |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | ataindre | to reach |
| 3 | Latin | attingo | I come in contact with, touch; I assault; strike,... |
| 4 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 5 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 6 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 7 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |