I heard this yesterday during a television program.

Problem:
The speaker used the wrong verb.

Explanation:
I was watching an episode of “Forensic Files” on the truTV channel.

Someone by the name of Randy Scott, identified as Lead Investigator, was discussing a crime.

Mr. Scott said, “A permit had been attained.”

The verb “attain” — spelled A-T-T-A-I-N — means to accomplish, achieve, or reach as an objective, as in “He attained success on the racing circuit at the age of 25.”

Mr. Scott should have used the verb “obtain” — spelled O-B-T-A-I-N — instead because this verb means to acquire, procure, or get.

Unfortunately, there is not a simple way to search the Internet for mistaken use of “attain” as a substitute for “obtain”; otherwise, I would put some statistics from Google here.

This is not the first time that I saw or heard the mistaken use of these two verbs as synonyms, and I believe that it is a relatively common English blunder.

The confusion between “attain” and “obtain” provides yet another example of the value of knowing the roots of words in the English language.

The verb “attain” comes from the prefix A-T, which means toward or near, and T-A-I-N, which comes from the Latin verb “tangere”, which means to touch.

The verb “obtain” comes from the prefix O-B, which has many meanings including to and on, and T-A-I-N, which comes from the Latin verb “tenere”, which means to hold.

In other words, the T-A-I-N in “attain” the T-A-I-N in “obtain” are from different Latin verbs, so “attain” and “obtain” are NOT synonyms.

Solution:
“A permit had been obtained.”