different between perform vs obtain

English

Etymology

From Middle English performen, parfournen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Frankish *frumjan (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Proto-Germanic *frumjan?, *framjan? (“to further, promote”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“in front, forth”), *per- (“forward, out”). Cognate with Old High German frummen (“to do, execute, accomplish, provide”), Old Saxon frummian (“to perform, promote”), Old English fremman (“to perform, execute, carry out, accomplish”), Gothic ???????????????????????????? (frumjan, “to promote, accomplish”). See also frame, from.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p??f??m/, enPR: p?r-fôrm?
• (General American) IPA^(key): /p??f??m/, enPR: p?r-fôrm?
• Rhymes: -??(?)m
• Hyphenation: per?form

Verb

perform (third-person singular simple present performs, present participle performing, simple past and past participle performed)

1. (transitive) To do (something); to execute.
2. (intransitive) To exhibit an expected pattern of behavior; to function; to work.

3. (law) To act in a way set forth in a contract.
   1. (transitive) To act in accordance with (a contract); to fulfill one’s terms of (a contract).

   2. (intransitive) To fulfill contractually agreed-to terms.

4. (transitive, intransitive) To do (something) in front of an audience, such as acting or music, often in order to entertain.
5. (by extension, transitive) To behave theatrically so as to give the impression of (a quality, character trait, etc.); to feign.
6. (social sciences) Of a social actor, to behave in certain ways.
   1. (transitive) To behave in accordance with, and thereby in turn shape, (a social notion or role).

   2. (intransitive) To behave in ways that carry meaning in social contexts.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• preform

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