accomplishment

English

Etymology

• First attested in the early 15th century.
• (completes, perfects, equips): First attested around 1600.
• accomplish +‎ -ment
• Borrowed from French accomplissement, from accomplir

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə.ˈkɒm.plɪʃ.mənt/, /ə.ˈkʌm.plɪʃ.mənt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə.ˈkɑm.plɪʃ.mənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

accomplishment (countable and uncountable, plural accomplishments)

1. The act of accomplishing; completion; fulfilment.

   the accomplishment of an enterprise, of a prophecy, etc

2. That which completes, perfects, or equips thoroughly; acquirement; attainment; that which constitutes excellence of mind, or elegance of manners, acquired by education or training.
   • 1763, Charles Churchill, The Ghost, Book III:

     I’ll make a proof how I advance in / My new accomplishment of dancing.

   • 1782, William Cowper, The Progress of Error:

     Accomplishments have taken virtue’s place, / And wisdom falls before exterior grace ;

3. Something accomplished; an achievement.

   Increasing sales by 20% in the last quarter was seen as a major accomplishment for the business.

4. (grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that change over time until a natural end point.
   • 1997, Robert van Valin, Randy LaPolla, Syntax‎, pages 183-84:

     Thus it is attested that some children have taken an accomplishment verb like disappear, which does not have a causative counterpart, and used it as a causative accomplishment in sentences like He disappeared it, i.e. ‘He made it disappear.’

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• “accomplishment”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.