Etymologically
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detention

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈten.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French détention and directly from Late Latin dētentiō, retention,[2][3][4] from dētinēre, to hold back (see detain).[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A holding back or withholding of something due: 1443 in Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline;[2][3] 1552 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

Confinement or arrest appeared about 1570, in a reference to the captivity of Mary, Queen of Scots.[2][6] Keeping a pupil in after school as a punishment is from 1882.[6][7] Detention centre is a modern compound.[1][7]

Timeline

  • 1443 – a withholding.[2]
  • c. 1570 – confinement, arrest.[2][6]
  • 1882 – school detention.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of detaining, or the state of being held in custody.
  2. A punishment in which a pupil is kept in school after hours.
  3. A forced delay.

Word family

  • nondetention
  • predetention
  • detention home
  • house of detention

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins