Added 4 October 2026
attain
/əˈteɪn/ verb
In Latin: potior, teneo Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about attain at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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To come to or reach (a place) by motion or progression. To arrive at (a certain age or time, condition or state, etc.); to reach. To gain (a desired result or other objective) through effort; to accomplish, to achieve.
To attain such a high level of proficiency requires hours of practice each day.
- To come to or reach (a place) by motion or progression.
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To arrive at (a certain age or time, condition or state, etc.); to reach. To gain (a desired result or other objective) through effort; to accomplish, to achieve.
To attain such a high level of proficiency requires hours of practice each day.
noun
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)