Gotten

/ˈɡɑː.tən/ verb

Definition

The past participle of 'get,' meaning to have received, obtained, or arrived at something.

Etymology

From Old English 'gietan' and Old Norse 'geta,' meaning to get or obtain. This word survived in American English while British English shifted to just 'got,' making it distinctly American.

Kelly Says

British and American English split ways with this word—Americans still say 'gotten' as the past participle while the British just use 'got,' kind of like how they never fully decided which past form to keep when English was still dividing into dialects after 1607.

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