Attain

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈteɪn/

Definitions

1. To successfully reach or achieve a goal, status, or level through effort or skill
2. To achieve or reach a particular goal, status, or level through determined effort and skillful execution
3. To secure a desired result or level of success through perseverance, effort, and capability

Etymology: Attain comes from Latin "attingere," a compound of "ad-" (toward) and "tangere" (to touch). The literal sense was therefore something like "to touch upon" or "to come into contact with," and the reaching sense developed from that physical idea of arriving at a place. The word reached English through Old French "ataindre" and Anglo-Norman "ataindre," and Middle English "atteinen" carried a striking range of meanings. Beyond "to reach," it could mean "to overtake," "to succeed," "to taint or corrupt," and even "to bring to justice or punish." The legal sense of punishing someone survives in its close relative "attainder," a doublet that came into English from the same Old French source but kept the older legal sense of forfeiture. Over time the physical notion of arriving somewhere gave way to the abstract idea of accomplishing something. The modern sense of reaching a goal is the result of that narrowing, with the earlier senses of corruption and punishment dropping away from everyday use.

Synonyms: achieve, obtain, reach, secure, acquire

Antonyms: fail, lose, miss, abandon, forfeit