Etymograph

English

achievement

Achievement comes from Middle French achevement, from Old French achevement, from the verb achever ‘to finish’.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400achever1‘to finish’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400achevement1
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600achevement1
  4. Englishearliest quotation a. 1677achievement1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English achievement
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, The Works of Isaac Barrow: “[The exploits] of the ancient saints ; they do…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400acheverWiktionary, English achievement‘to finish’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400achevementWiktionary, English achievement
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600achevementWiktionary, English achievement
  4. Englishearliest quotation a. 1677achievementWiktionary, English achievement. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, The Works of Isaac Barrow: “[The exploits] of the ancient saints ; they do…”

The story

The heraldic sense may be influenced by hatchment.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

noun The act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “achievement”. 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 / Old French achever / achievement