Obtaineth

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

  1. To secure something through effort or process while ensuring possession or access to what is desired as a result of one's actions
  2. To gain or acquire something that is striven for after a period of effort, thereby establishing ownership or access to it
  3. To get hold of something by effort or means

Etymology: The form "obtaineth" belongs to the archaic English verb conjugation, specifically the third person singular present tense of "obtain." This form was commonly used in Early Modern English, roughly from the late 15th century through the 17th century, a period when English verb endings preserved more inflection than contemporary usage. The suffix "-eth" was a standard marker for third person singular in present tense verbs, familiar from texts such as the King James Bible (1611) and Shakespeare’s plays. "Obtain" itself entered English in the late Middle Ages, deriving from the Old French "obtenir," which came from the Latin "obtinēre." The Latin verb combined "ob-" meaning "against" or "toward" with "tenēre," meaning "to hold." Thus, the original sense carried the idea of "holding onto" or "keeping possession of" something. Over time, this evolved into the broader sense of gaining or acquiring something, often through effort. During the period when "-eth" endings were the norm, verbs like "obtain" would have been regularly conjugated as "I obtain," "thou obtainest," "he/she/it obtaineth," reflecting a more synthetic verbal system than modern English. This form began to fall out of favor in the 18th century, replaced by the simpler "-s" ending in third person singular, as in "he obtains." The use of "obtaineth" today is largely restricted to poetic, religious, or stylistic contexts that evoke an older or more formal tone. It stands as a linguistic relic that reveals how English once marked grammatical distinctions more overtly, offering a glimpse into the language’s historical development through its morphology and borrowed roots.

Synonyms: acquires, gains, procures, attains, receives