retain
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From French retenir, from Vulgar Latin *retinō, retinīre, from Latin retinō, retinere, from Latin re- + teneō, tenere (“to hold”)
Pronunciation [edit]
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Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -eɪn
Verb [edit]
retain (third-person singular simple present retains, present participle retaining, simple past and past participle retained)
- (transitive) To keep in possession or use.
- 1856: Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter XI, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling
- A strange thing was that Bovary, while continually thinking of Emma, was forgetting her. He grew desperate as he felt this image fading from his memory in spite of all efforts to retain it. Yet every night he dreamt of her; it was always the same dream. He drew near her, but when he was about to clasp her she fell into decay in his arms.
- 1856: Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter XI, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling
- (transitive) To keep in one's pay or service.
- (transitive) To employ by paying a retainer.
- (transitive) To hold secure.
- (obsolete) To belong; to pertain.
- Boyle
- A somewhat languid relish, retaining to bitterness.
- Boyle
Synonyms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to keep in possession or use
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to keep in one's pay or service
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to hold secure
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