Obtain
late Middle English: from Old French obtenir, from Latin obtinere ‘obtain, gain’.
wiktionary
From Middle English obteinen, from Anglo-Norman obtenir, optiner et al., and Middle French obtenir, from Latin obtinēre(“to gain, achieve, succeed, possess”), from ob- + tenēre(“to hold”).
etymonline
obtain (v.)
early 15c., obteinen, "to get or acquire, inherit, gain, conquer," from Old French obtenir "acquire, obtain" (14c.) and directly from Latin obtinere "hold, hold fast, take hold of, get possession of, acquire," from ob "in front of" (though perhaps intensive in this case; see ob-) + tenere "to hold," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch." Intransitive sense of "be prevalent or customary, be established in practice" is from 1610s. Related: Obtained; obtaining.
