Obtains

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Gets or acquires something by effort, request, or purchase
2. Secures possession or ownership of an item or benefit
3. Receives or comes into possession of something through various means

Etymology: "Obtains" is the third-person singular present form of "obtain," so the story belongs to the verb itself. Its core idea of holding something in front of you is preserved in its Latin ancestor, "obtinere," which combined "ob-," meaning "toward" or "against," with "tenere," meaning "to hold." Roman writers used the Latin verb in senses of gaining, achieving, and succeeding, so the notion of grasping something and keeping hold of it was there from the start. The verb reached English through Anglo-Norman and Middle French, where forms such as "obtenir" carried the same sense of attaining something. Middle English then took the word as "obteinen." Over time the meaning settled on getting something through effort or request, which is the sense of securing possession that "obtains" conveys today.

Synonyms: acquires, gains, procures, secures, attains

Antonyms: loses, forfeits, gives up, relinquishes, surrenders