Etymology

attainder

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Today it means: The state a prisoner entered once a death sentence (usually for treason) had been issued; the state of being stripped of all civil rights. Full definition →

Anglo-Norman ataindre ← Vulgar Latin *attangere ← Latin attingere
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinad-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*teh₂g-
  6. Proto-Italic*tangō
  7. Latintangō
  8. Latinattingere
  9. Vulgar Latin*attangere
  10. Anglo-Normanataindre
  11. English todayattainder

From Anglo-Norman ataindre ("to reach"), with infinitives used as nouns being frequent in Law French. Doublet of attain and attinge.

Words from the same roots

Anglo-Normanataindre all →

attain

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.