different between obtain vs retch

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

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??t?/
• Rhymes: -?t?
• Homophone: wretch

Etymology 1

From Middle English *recchen, *rechen (attested in arechen), hræcen, from Old English hr??an (“to clear the throat, hawk, spit”), from Proto-West Germanic *hr?kijan, from Proto-Germanic *hr?kijan? (“to clear one's throat”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreg- (“to caw, crow”). Cognate with Icelandic hrækja (“to hawk, spit”), Limburgish räöke (“to induce vomiting”). Also related with German Rachen (“throat”).

Alternative forms

• reach (archaic or dialectal)

Verb

retch (third-person singular simple present retches, present participle retching, simple past and past participle retched)

1. To make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; to strain, as in vomiting.
   • 1819-1824, Lord Byron, Don Juan

     Here he grew inarticulate with retching.

Translations

Noun

retch (plural retches)

1. An unsuccessful effort to vomit.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English recchen (“to care; heed”), from Old English r???an, variant of r??an (“to care; reck”), from Proto-Germanic *r?kijan? (“to care”), from Proto-Indo-European *re?- (“straight, right, just”).

Verb

retch (third-person singular simple present retches, present participle retching, simple past and past participle retched)

1. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To reck

Related terms

• retchless

Etymology 3

From Middle English recchen, from Old English re??an (“to stretch, extend”), from Proto-West Germanic *rakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *rakjan? (“to straighten, stretch”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?ro?éyeti.

Verb

retch (third-person singular simple present retches, present participle retching, simple past and past participle retched or (obsolete) raught)

1. (dialectal) to reach

Anagrams

• chert