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at·tach (ə-tăch)
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v. at·tached, at·tach·ing, at·tach·es
v.tr.
1. To fasten, secure, or join: attached the wires to the post.
2. To connect as an adjunct or associated condition or part: Many major issues are attached to this legislation.
3. To affix or append; add: attached several riders to the document.
4. To ascribe or assign: attached no significance to the threat.
5. To bind by emotional ties, as of affection or loyalty: I am attached to my family.
6. To assign (personnel) to a military unit on a temporary basis.
7. Law To seize (property) by legal writ.
8. To add (a file) to an email.
v.intr.
1. To adhere, belong, or relate: Very little prestige attaches to this position.
2. To be attached or attachable: The helmet's chin strap attaches on the side just below the ear.
[Middle English attachen, from Old French attachier, alteration of estachier, from estache, stake, of Germanic origin.]
at·tacha·ble adj.
at·tacher n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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