attainable

Etymology

It is formed from English attain + -able;^[2][3][4] the OED compares Old French ataignable.^[2] Attain is from Old French ataindre (“to come up to, reach”), from *attangō, corresponding to Latin attingō (“to touch; to arrive at”),^[3][2] from ad- (“to”) and tangō (“to touch”),^[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *tag- (“to touch, handle”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Capable of being attained, in the various senses of the verb: 1647, in William Petty's Advice to Hartlib.^[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1640s,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1640–50.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its first meaning, following the senses of attain, to reach or achieve something.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "that which may be attained; procurable", quoting Tillotson.^[5]

Timeline

• 1647 – capable of being attained.^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson defines it as "procurable".^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able to be reached, achieved or obtained: The committee set goals that were ambitious but attainable.^[6][2][5]

Word family

• attainability
• unattainability
• unattainable

Related words

• attain
• attainment
• nonattainment
• tangible
• contact

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster