different between invent vs obtain

English

Etymology

From Middle English inventen, borrowed from Old French inventer, from Latin inventus, perfect passive participle of inveni? (“come upon, meet with, find, discover”), from in (“in, on”) + veni? (“come”); see venture. Compare advent, covent, event, prevent, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?v?nt/
• Rhymes: -?nt

Verb

invent (third-person singular simple present invents, present participle inventing, simple past and past participle invented)

1. To design a new process or mechanism.

2. To create something fictional for a particular purpose.

   Synonym: make up

3. (obsolete) To come upon; to find; to discover.

Synonyms

• fangle

See also

• discover

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• invent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• invent in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /im?vent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /im?ben/

Noun

invent m (plural invents)

1. invention

   Synonym: invenció

Related terms

• inventar

Further reading

• “invent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “invent” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “invent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “invent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman obtenir, optiner et al., and Middle French obtenir, from Latin obtin?re (“to gain, achieve, succeed, possess”), from ob- + ten?re (“to hold”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?te?n/
• Rhymes: -e?n
• Homophone: abthane

Verb

obtain (third-person singular simple present obtains, present participle obtaining, simple past and past participle obtained)

1. (transitive) To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way. [from 15th c.]
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Luke XVIII:

     And a certayne ruler axed him: sayinge: Goode Master: what ought I to do, to obtaine eternall lyfe?
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached. [15th–19th c.]
   • 1722, Daniel Defoe, Colonel Jack:

     he was condemned to die for the felony, and being so well known for an old offender, had certainly died, but the merchant, upon his earnest application, had obtained that he should be transported, on condition that he restored all the rest of his bills, which he had done accordingly.

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To prevail, be victorious; to succeed. [15th–19th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.2:

     “O daughter deare!” (said she) “despeire no whit; / For never sore but might a salve obtain [...].”

   • 1701, Jonathan Swift, Contests and Dissentions in Athens and Rome:

     This, though it failed at present, yet afterward obtained, and was a mighty step to the ruin of the commonwealth.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To hold; to keep, possess or occupy. [15th–18th c.]
5. (intransitive) To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force. [from 17th c.]
   • 1908, Jack London, The Iron Heel, ChapterXVII,

     Even though the Pervaise confession had never come to light, no reasonable doubt could obtain; for the act in question […] was on a par with countless other acts committed by the oligarchs, and, before them, by the capitalists.

   • 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, Bantam Spectra, p. 460,

     But the hostage situation no longer obtains, and so Uncle Enzo feels it important to stop Rife now, […]

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Bonita, boat-in