obtain
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obtain
- /əbˈteɪn/
Sounds like abthane · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English obteinen, from Anglo-Norman obtenir, optiner et al., and Middle French obtenir, from Latin obtinēre (“to gain, achieve, succeed, possess”), from ob- + tenēre (“to hold”).
verb obtains · obtaining · obtained · obtain
- To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way. obtain permission
- To secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached. he was condemned to die for the felony, and being so well known for an old offender, had certainly died, but the merchant, upon his earnest application, had obtained that he should be transported, on condition that he restored all the rest of his bills, which he had done accordingly.
- To prevail, be victorious; to succeed. “O daughter deare!” (said she) “despeire no whit; / For never sore but might a salve obtain [...].”
- To hold; to keep, possess or occupy. His mother then is mortal, but his Sire / He who obtains the monarchy of Heav'n, / And what will he not do to advance his Son?
- To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force. Even though the Pervaise confession had never come to light, no reasonable doubt could obtain; for the act in question […] was on a par with countless other acts committed by the oligarchs, and, before them, by the capitalists.
