Etymograph

English

achieve

Achieve comes from Middle English achieven, from Old French achever ‘to finish’, from a chief ‘to a head, to an end’, ultimately from Latin caput ‘head’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaput1‘head’
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*capus1‘head’reconstructed
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chief1‘end; head’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400achever1‘to accomplish, finish’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500achieven1‘to accomplish’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1513achieve1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English achieve
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1513, Thomas More, The Pittifvll Life of King Edward the Fifth: “[T]here could not be a more cruell Tyrant appointed…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaputWiktionary, English achieve‘head’
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*capusWiktionary, English achieve‘head’reconstructed
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chiefWiktionary, English achieve‘end; head’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400acheverWiktionary, English achieve‘to accomplish, finish’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500achievenWiktionary, English achieve‘to accomplish’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1513achieveWiktionary, English achieve. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1513, Thomas More, The Pittifvll Life of King Edward the Fifth: “[T]here could not be a more cruell Tyrant appointed…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, case, head, except, capital, heavy, cash, captain, behavior, receive, escape, accept, catch, capable, cable, heavily, capacity, chapter, capture, cape, recipe, reception, chase, occupation, perception, cattle, cabin, capitol, chef, haven, capita, chapel, hawk, behave, recipient, anticipation, anticipate, caption, capsule, susceptible, 176 more

Today it means

verb To carry out or conclude (something, as a task) successfully; to accomplish.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “achieve”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin caput / achieve

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