retenir

See also: reteñir

Catalan

Alternative forms

• retindre

Etymology

From , from Vulgar Latin *retenīre, from Latin retinēre, present active infinitive of retineō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [rə.təˈni]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [re.teˈniɾ]
• Rhymes: -i(ɾ)

Verb

retenir (first-person singular present retinc, first-person singular preterite retinguí, past participle retingut)

1. to retain; to keep
2. to retain; to remember
3. (reflexive) to control oneself; to control one's impulses

Related terms

• retenció

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French

Etymology

From Middle French retenir, from Old French retenir, from Vulgar Latin *retenīre, from Latin retinēre, present active infinitive of retineō, from re- + teneō (“to hold”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁə.t(ə).niʁ/

• audio:

  (file)

Verb

retenir

1. (transitive) to retain, hold
   1. (transitive) to hold back, rein in
   2. (transitive) to keep, detain, hold up
2. (transitive) to remember
3. (transitive, intransitive) to accept (que that)
4. (transitive, law) to uphold
5. (reflexive) to restrain oneself, hold back

   Je n’ai pas pu me retenir, je n’ai pas pu m’en empêcher. ― I couldn't help myself.

Conjugation

This is a verb in a group of -ir verbs. All verbs ending in -tenir, such as contenir and détenir, are conjugated this way. Such verbs are the only verbs whose the past historic and subjunctive imperfect endings do not start in one of these thematic vowels (-a-, -i-, -u-).

Conjugation of retenir (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	retenir
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	retenant /ʁə.t(ə).nɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		retenu /ʁə.t(ə).ny/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	retiens /ʁə.tjɛ̃/	retiens /ʁə.tjɛ̃/	retient /ʁə.tjɛ̃/	retenons /ʁə.t(ə).nɔ̃/	retenez /ʁə.t(ə).ne/	retiennent /ʁə.tjɛn/
	imperfect	retenais /ʁə.t(ə).nɛ/	retenais /ʁə.t(ə).nɛ/	retenait /ʁə.t(ə).nɛ/	retenions /ʁə.tə.njɔ̃/	reteniez /ʁə.tə.nje/	retenaient /ʁə.t(ə).nɛ/
	past historic2	retins /ʁə.tɛ̃/	retins /ʁə.tɛ̃/	retint /ʁə.tɛ̃/	retînmes /ʁə.tɛ̃m/	retîntes /ʁə.tɛ̃t/	retinrent /ʁə.tɛ̃ʁ/
	future	retiendrai /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁe/	retiendras /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁa/	retiendra /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁa/	retiendrons /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁɔ̃/	retiendrez /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁe/	retiendront /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁɔ̃/
	conditional	retiendrais /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/	retiendrais /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/	retiendrait /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/	retiendrions /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁi.jɔ̃/	retiendriez /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁi.je/	retiendraient /ʁə.tjɛ̃.dʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	retienne /ʁə.tjɛn/	retiennes /ʁə.tjɛn/	retienne /ʁə.tjɛn/	retenions /ʁə.tə.njɔ̃/	reteniez /ʁə.tə.nje/	retiennent /ʁə.tjɛn/
	imperfect2	retinsse /ʁə.tɛ̃s/	retinsses /ʁə.tɛ̃s/	retînt /ʁə.tɛ̃/	retinssions /ʁə.tɛ̃.sjɔ̃/	retinssiez /ʁə.tɛ̃.sje/	retinssent /ʁə.tɛ̃s/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	retiens /ʁə.tjɛ̃/	—	retenons /ʁə.t(ə).nɔ̃/	retenez /ʁə.t(ə).ne/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Related terms

• rétention

Further reading

• “retenir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• inerter, rentier, terrien, terrine

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French retenir.

Verb

retenir

1. to keep; to retain
   • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 67:

     ceulx qui venoient en la dance estoient retenus

     those who came into the dance where retained

Descendants

• English: retain
• French: retenir

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Old French

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *retenīre, from Latin retinēre, present active infinitive of retineō

Verb

retenir

1. to keep; to retain

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has a stressed present stem retien distinct from the unstressed stem reten, as well as other irregularities. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of retenir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		retenir			avoir retenu
gerund		en retenant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		retenant
past participle		retenu
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	retieng, retien	retiens	retient	retenons	retenez	retienent
	imperfect	retenoie, reteneie	retenoies, reteneies	retenoit, reteneit	reteniiens, reteniens	reteniiez, reteniez	retenoient, reteneient
	preterite	retin	retenis	retint	retenimes	retenistes	retindrent, retinrent
	future	retendrai	retendras	retendra	retendrons	retendroiz, retendreiz, retendrez	retendront
	conditional	retendroie, retendreie	retendroies, retendreies	retendroit, retendreit	retendriiens, retendriens	retendriiez, retendriez	retendroient, retendreient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	retiegne	retiegnes	retiegne	retiegniens, retiegnons	retiegniez	retiegnent
	imperfect	retenisse	retenisses	retenist	retenissons, retenissiens	retenissoiz, retenissez, retenissiez	retenissent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	retien	—	retenons	retenez	—

Related terms

• retencion

Descendants

• Middle French: retenir
  • English: retain
  • French: retenir