obtainable

/əbˈteɪnəbəl/uhb-TAY-nuh-buhl

UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked

/əbˈteɪnəbəl/uhb-TAY-nuh-buhl

Meaningable to be obtained

Common meaning: able to be got

Tap a word part to explore

obtowards, againstSkeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), p. 355 · scan
tainto hold, keep hold ofLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1853 · scan
ableable to be

‘towards, against’ + ‘to hold, keep hold of’ → obtainable

Journey through time

Latinob- + tenere‘towards, against + to hold, keep hold of’source
Latinobtinere‘to hold, obtain’source
Frenchobtenirsource
Englishobtain‘to get’
Englishformed in English from obtainobtainable‘able to be got’ · 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 obtain + -able.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), OBTAIN, p.400 · scan

Roots

obtinere Latin “to hold, obtain”
teneō, tenuī, tentum Latin “to hold, keep hold of”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app