Result from Foreign Dictionaries (4 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Attain \At*tain"\ ([a^]t*t[=a]n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Attained} (-t[=a]nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Attaining}.] [Of. atteinen, atteignen, atainen, OF. ateindre, ataindre, F. atteindre, fr. L. attingere; ad + tangere to touch, reach. See {Tangent}, and cf. {Attinge}, {Attaint}.] 1. To achieve or accomplish, that is, to reach by efforts; to gain; to compass; as, to attain rest. [1913 Webster] Is he wise who hopes to attain the end without the means? --Abp. Tillotson. [1913 Webster] 2. To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire. [Obs. with a material object.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 3. To get at the knowledge of; to ascertain. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Not well attaining his meaning. --Fuller. [1913 Webster] 4. To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at. "Canaan he now attains." --Milton. [1913 Webster] 5. To overtake. [Obs.] --Bacon. [1913 Webster] 6. To reach in excellence or degree; to equal. [1913 Webster] Syn: To {Attain}, {Obtain}, {Procure}. Usage: Attain always implies an effort toward an object. Hence it is not synonymous with obtain and procure, which do not necessarily imply such effort or motion. We procure or obtain a thing by purchase or loan, and we obtain by inheritance, but we do not attain it by such means. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Attain \At*tain"\, n. Attainment. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Attain \At*tain"\, v. i. 1. To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.; to reach. [1913 Webster] If by any means they might attain to Phenice. --Acts xxvii. 12. [1913 Webster] Nor nearer might the dogs attain. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] To see your trees attain to the dignity of timber. --Cowper. [1913 Webster] Few boroughs had as yet attained to power such as this. --J. R. Green. [1913 Webster] 2. To come or arrive, by an effort of mind. [1913 Webster] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I can not attain unto it. --Ps. cxxxix. 6. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: attain v 1: to gain with effort; "she achieved her goal despite setbacks" [syn: {achieve}, {accomplish}, {attain}, {reach}] 2: reach a point in time, or a certain state or level; "The thermometer hit 100 degrees"; "This car can reach a speed of 140 miles per hour" [syn: {reach}, {hit}, {attain}] 3: find unexpectedly; "the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake" [syn: {fall upon}, {strike}, {come upon}, {light upon}, {chance upon}, {come across}, {chance on}, {happen upon}, {attain}, {discover}] 4: reach a destination, either real or abstract; "We hit Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We barely made it to the finish line"; "I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts" [syn: {reach}, {make}, {attain}, {hit}, {arrive at}, {gain}]