Where does “obtain” come from?

Obtain comes from Anglo-Norman obtenir, from Latin obtineo, ultimately deriving through Latin teneo and obolus from Ancient Greek ὀβολός, ὀβελός, and βέλος, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European gʷélHos.

obtain (English): To get hold of; to gain possession of, to...

Definitions

To get hold of; to gain possession of, to...

Ancestry of “obtain”, step by step

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Middle English	obteinen	—
2	Middle French	obtenir	to obtain
3	Old French	obtenir	to obtain
4	Latin	obtineo	I have, occupy, possess, hold; I preserve, keep,...
5	Latin	ob-	towards; against
6	Latin	obolus	obolus
7	Ancient Greek	ὀβολός	obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
8	Ancient Greek	ὀβελός	a spit, rod; a horizontal line
9	Ancient Greek	βέλος	missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
10	Proto-Indo-European	gʷélHos	—
11	Proto-Indo-European	gʷelH-	to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “obtain”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →