retain English · revision 7149

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1386|origins=la retineo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹɪˈteɪn/ ''(UK)''; /ɹɪˈteɪn/, /ɹi-/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English reteinen, [[bor|xno|retei(g)n-]], the stressed stem of Old French [[m|fro|retenir|t=to keep, retain; take into service; remember]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from Latin [[m|la|retineo|alt=retinēre|t=to hold back]], from [[m|la|re-|t=back]] and [[m|la|teneo|alt=tenēre|t=to hold]] (see [[tenant]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from PIE [[ine-pro|*ten-|t=to stretch]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To hold back or restrain: about 1386, in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates ''keep possession of'' to the late 14th century and ''restrain'' (now obsolete) to the early 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To keep someone attached to oneself or in one's service is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and specifically to engage a lawyer from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) To keep in mind or remember is from about 1500.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) To keep hold or possession of is 15th-century.^(Hoad 1986) [[retainer|alt=Retainer]], a fee to engage a lawyer, follows from the legal sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1386 – to hold back.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – to keep in service.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1500 – to remember.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – to engage a lawyer.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To continue to have or hold; to [[keep]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To keep in place or hold back, as a liquid or heat.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To remember: ''retain information''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To engage the services of a lawyer or other professional by paying a fee in advance.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[retainability]]

+ * [[retainable]]

+ * [[retainment]]

+ * [[unretained]]

+ * [[retainer]]

+ * [[retainership]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[abstain]]

+ * [[contain]]

+ * [[maintain]]

+ * [[obtain]]

+ * [[retention]]

+ * [[retentive]]

+ * [[retentivity]]

+ * [[retinue]]

+ * [[sustain]]

+ * [[tenant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}