achieve

Origin

From Middle English achieven, acheven (“to accomplish (something); to acquire or obtain (something); to carry out or finish (something); to succeed in (something); to happen, turn out”), from Anglo-Norman achever, achiever, Middle French achever, achiever, and Old French achever, achiever (“to accomplish (something); to finish (something); to succeed in (something)”) (modern French achever), and then from either of the following: * Old French a- (prefix denoting addition or increase, or a change of state) + chief (“end; head”) (compare traire a chief (“to be finished”), venir a chief (“to accomplish (something)”); and Late Latin ad caput venire (“to complete (something)”)) + -er (a variant of -ier (suffix forming verbs). Chief is derived from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *káput (“head”), possibly from *kap- (“head”). * Late Latin *accapāre, the present active infinitive of *accapō (“to finish”), from Latin ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’) + *capum (from caput (“head”); see further above) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). cognates * Catalan acabar * Late Latin achevare, acheviare (“to acknowledge feudal liability...