Attaches

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈtæt͡ʃɪz/

Definitions

1. Fastens or secures one thing to another physically ; assigns a quality, value, or importance to something
2. Joins or affixes objects together ; ascribes a characteristic or responsibility to a person or thing
3. Binds or links items so they stay connected ; associates a meaning or blame with a concept or individual

Etymology: Before "attach" meant anything to do with fastening, its ancestors were about sticks. The root traces back to a Proto-Germanic word for a pole, bar or stake, which passed into Frankish as a word for a stick, and from there into Old French as "estache," meaning a stake or post. Old French then built the verb "estachier," "to bind," and a variant, "atachier," which gave English its word. English borrowed it from Old French in the Middle English period, and it arrived with the sense of tying or fastening one thing to another. The word has a near relative in "attack," which shares the same origin: both come from the idea of seizing or fixing hold of something. The older English word for this idea, "tying," was pushed aside by the French borrowing. Over time, the physical sense of fixing things together gave rise to the figurative uses seen today, such as attaching a meaning to an idea or attaching blame to a person.

Synonyms: fastens, joins, connects

Antonyms: detaches, severs