Etymograph

English

obtention

Obtention comes from Latin obtentiō ‘covering, veiling’, from obtineō ‘to have, occupy, possess, hold, obtain’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēō1‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneō1‘hold’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtineō2‘to have, occupy, possess, hold, obtain’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtentiō3as obtentiōnem‘covering, veiling’
  7. Englishtodayobtention3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin obtineo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin obtentio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English obtention

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, Latin obtineo‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yétiWiktionary, Latin obtineoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēōWiktionary, Latin obtineo‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneōWiktionary, Latin obtineo‘hold’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtineōWiktionary, Latin obtentio‘to have, occupy, possess, hold, obtain’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtentiōWiktionary, English obtentionas obtentiōnem‘covering, veiling’
  7. EnglishtodayobtentionWiktionary, English obtention

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’

tight, tone, tune, entertainment, maintenance, ton, obtain, tender, tonic, pristine, pertinent, tendon, tetanus, tenacious, countenance, tantra, maintainer, tendinitis, hypotenuse, retentive, 62 more

through Proto-Italic *tenēō ‘to hold’

container, incontinent, 18 more

through Latin teneō ‘hold’

continue, content, retain, contain, tennis, sustain, continuous, continent, rein, tenant, detain, abstain, detention, tenor, continuum, retention, abstinence, pertain, tenacity, sustenance, tenet, retinue, incontinence, tenement, tenable, abstention, abstinent, continence, 20 more

Today it means

noun The act of obtaining.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “obtention”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin obtineo, Latin obtentio. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *ten- / obtention

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