Etymology
1. c.1325, from O.Fr.
achever "finish," from phrase
à chef (venir) "at an end, finished," or V.L.
*accapare, from L.L.
ad caput (venire); both the O.Fr. and L.L. phrases meaning lit. "to come to a head," from L.
caput "head" (see head).
2. 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:
3. * 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”).
4. * 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).
5. cognates
6. * Catalan acabar
7. * Late Latin achevare, acheviare (“to acknowledge feudal liability; to complete, end”)
8. * Old Occitan acabar (modern Occitan acabar)
9. * Portuguese acabar
10. * Spanish acabar See: Anglo-Norman '
achever', Middle French '
achever', French '
achever', Valencian '
acabar', Old Occitan '
acabar', Occitan '
acabar', Portuguese '
acabar', Spanish '
acabar'.
Verbs referencing "achieve"
Portuguese
acabar, French
achever.