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obtainable

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Etymology and origin of the English word obtainable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1617 before 1617, S. Hieron, Penance for Sinne
Ultimate origin
Latin teneō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English obtain
English obtainable

Pronunciation

  • /əbˈteɪnəbl̩/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English obtain + -able.[2][3][4] Obtain is from Middle English obteinen, from Anglo-Norman obtenir and Middle French obtenir,[2][5][3] from Latin obtineō (“to hold, hold fast, gain, acquire”),[2][3][5] formed from ob- and teneō (“to hold”),[5][3] from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

That can be obtained: before 1617, in Samuel Hieron's Penance for Sinne.[2][6] Etymonline dates the word to the 1610s.[3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to that of the verb.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to be procured", and in 1773 added a second sense, "to be gained", with Kettlewell's remark on a redemption "not being obtainable" except by the coming of God's Son.[7] Today it is used much like available.[8] The noun obtainability is recorded from the mid-20th century.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1617 – able to be obtained or got.[2][6]
  • mid 20th century – the noun obtainability.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Able to be obtained or got; available: Spare parts for the old radio are still obtainable online.[8][4][2]

Word family

  • unobtainable

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Obtainable.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/obtainable. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·