achieve

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To succeed in reaching a goal, usually through effort.

   I achieved my goal despite many setbacks.

2. 2
   verb

   To gain or win something as a result of hard work.

   The film achieved great success at the box office.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Achieve entered Middle English from Old French achever, meaning “come or bring to a head,” based on the phrase a chief, “to a head.” Its early English sense was “complete successfully.”

From Middle English achieven, acheven, from Anglo-Norman achever, Old French achever, achiever et al., apparently from Late Latin *accapāre, from ad (“to”) + caput (“head”) + -ō (verbal suffix), or alternatively a construction based on Old French chief (“head”). Compare Catalan, Occitan, Portuguese and Spanish acabar, French achever.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary