attainment

/əˈteɪnmənt/uh-TAYN-muhnt

/əˈteɪnmənt/uh-TAYN-muhnt

Meaningthe act of attaining

Common meaning: an achievement

atto, towardsSkeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), p. 30 · scan
tainto touchLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1840 · scan
mentnoun ending: act or result

‘to, towards’ + ‘to touch’ → attainment

Journey through time

Latinad- + tangere‘to, towards + to touch’source
Latinattingeresource
Old Frenchateindresource
Middle Englishattainensource
Englishattain‘to reach’
Englishformed in English from attainattainment‘an achievement’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from attain + -ment.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), ATTAIN, p.41 · scan

Roots

attingere Latin “to touch upon”
tangō, tetigī, tāctum Latin “to touch”

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