▪ I. retreat, n.
(rɪˈtriːt)
Forms: α. 4–6 retret (5 Sc. ratret), 5–6 retrete (6 -tte), 6– retreat (7 -te). β. 6 retreyte, 6–7 retreit.
[a. OF. retret masc., or retrete fem., variants of retrait, retraite, f. the pa. pple. of retraire:—L. retrahĕre to draw back: see retrait n.1 So Sp. and Pg. retreta, It. ritratta.]
† 1. ? A backhanded blow. Obs. rare.
| 13.. Sir Beues (A) 2537 Ascopard wiþ a retret Smot after Beues a dent gret. 1375 Barbour Bruce xv. 49 Thai..sic rowtis till othir raucht With stok, with stane, and with retrete, as athir part can othir bet. |
2. Mil. a. The signal to retire. Chiefly in phr. to blow or sound the (or a) retreat.
| α 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 460 Thai gert blaw the retret in hy. Ibid. 471 Qwhen thai had blawen the ratret. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 113 b, Sir Willyam..caused his trompet to blowe a retrete. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Fly lvi, At retret of trompet, they retyred a meyne. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low. C. Wars 812 Then the Prince..sounded the retreat. 1686 South Serm. (1727) II. 353 Deception..sounds a Retreat instead of a Charge. 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1872) II. 270 Blow a Retreat, blow, blow, Tantivee. 1838 Thirlwall Greece xxxviii. V. 45 Agesilaus thought it prudent to sound a retreat. |
| β a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xciii. 302 He wolde sease the batayle & blowe the retreyte. 1579 Digges Stratiot. 123 Whosoeuer retireth not immediatly vpon the sound of the Retreit. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. i. 9 The trumpet of Antiquity, sounding at the same time a March and a Retreit. |
† b. The recall of a pursuing force. Obs.—1.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. iii. 78 Iohn. Haue you left pursuit? West. Retreat is made, and Execution stay'd. |
c. (See quots.)
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Suppl. s.v., Retreat..is a beat of the drum in the evening, at the firing of a piece called the warning piece. 1822 Regul. & Orders Army 213 The Retreat is to sound or beat at Sun-set. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 340/2 The term retreat is given to a bugle-sound, followed by a roll of the drums..; it is sounded every day at sunset. |
3. a. The act of retiring or withdrawing in the face of opposition, difficulty, or danger.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 356 Er thou make eny suche assaies To love, and faile upon the fet, Betre is to make a beau retret. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1063 He was constreynyd clerely by duresse A lytyll tyne abak to make a bew retret. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 170 Come Shepheard, let vs make an honorable retreit. 1609 Tourneur Funeral Poem 77 Before it was too late to give retreat To their proceedings. 1686 tr. Chardin's Coronat. Solyman 85 The Rabble, who had put him to a Retreat with their stones. 1735 Pope Moral Ess. ii. 225 But Wisdom's triumph is well-tim'd Retreat, As hard a science to the Fair as Great! 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 131 It requires some patience and skill to intercept their retreat. 1839 Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 53 [I] at length made good my retreat. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 66 If I could cross a certain crevasse, my retreat would be secured. |
| fig. 1825 Scott Let. to Mrs. W. Scott 23 Mar. in Lockhart lxii, Seeing him in full retreat, I then ventured to make the civil offer of a dinner. |
b. esp. of an army or armed force after defeat or to avoid an engagement. to beat a retreat (see beat v.1 30 b).
In quot. 1600 made is app. used in the sense of covered.
| 1579 Digges Stratiot. 145 If the Enimie vpon our retreite pursue vs, the Generall muste giue order to lay..Ambushments of Shotte. 1600 J. Dymmok Ireland (1843) 33 The rest of the horse troupes fell in before the rearewarde, except 30 which..made the retreit of the whole army. 1690 Temple Heroic Virtue Wks. 1720 I. 231 The famous Retreat of Xenophon..was made at the Head of ten thousand Greeks. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, iv. Wks. 1813 V. 413 To have mentioned a retreat to his soldiers would have been dangerous. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVI. 142/1 A good retreat is esteemed, by experienced officers, the masterpiece of a general. 1817 J. Scott Paris Revisit. (ed. 4) 132 Personal heroism..shewn by the commanders of our cavalry, who covered the retreat. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. I. 615 He was so hard pressed on his retreat that he could not avoid an action. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 366 Six of his men were wounded, and the expedition was obliged to beat a retreat. |
c. Fencing. (See quots.)
| 1809 Roland Fencing vi. On the Retreat. This motion is only just the contrary to that of the advance, being made by carrying the left foot..in a line backward [etc.]. 1861 Chapman Art of Fencing ii. 47 note, By feigning to recover in withdrawing the body by a spring of the knees termed ‘the retreat of the body’. |
d. Recession, retrogression.
| 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxx. (1787) III. 159 The gradual retreat of the sea has left the modern city at the distance of four miles from the Hadriatic. 1815 Phillips Min. & Geol. 74 There have been successive irruptions and retreats of the sea. 1833 Herschel Astron. lvi. 215 The nodes of its [sc. moon's] orbit are in a continual state of retreat upon the ecliptic. 1914 W. B. Wright Quaternary Ice Age vii. 155 They are named by Penck retreat-stadia (‘Rückzugsstadien’), but it is considered probable that they were formed at the ends of periods of readvance. 1954 W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. viii. 201 The factors influencing the retreat of slopes are far more complex than is generally realized. 1963 R. A. Daly Changing World of Ice Age i. 21 (caption) Two principal moraines of retreat in Finland. 1970 R. J. Small Study of Landforms xi. 388 If the ice is affected by episodes of retreat, separated by stillstands, a number of smaller, sub-parallel ridges (‘recessional’ or ‘stadial’ moraines) will be formed. |
4. a. The act of retiring or withdrawing into privacy, or into some place of safety. Also in place, etc., of retreat.
| c 1475 Partenay 3944 Into a chambre ther made he retret, hit unshit entring, the dore after drew. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 143 A city..into which the sicke and feeble souldiers of our armie were conueied, as to a place of retreat and repose. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 231 The Italian Friers haue chambers of retreat within the Church, in which we did eate and rest. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 44 They..have these places as sure Asylums of Retreat. 1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. I. 21 I saw the great towns..famous for the retreat of the imperial court when Vienna was besieged. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 412 That Walk was..divided into six equal Parts, which serv'd not only for Retreat, but to store up any Necessaries which the Family had Occasion for. 1820 Keats Lamia i. 11 From high Olympus had he stolen light,..and made retreat Into a forest. |
b. The act of withdrawing from society, public life, business, or office; retirement, seclusion.
| 1646 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 116 I lyke not your retreate, and will not forbeare to dissuade it. 1651 Walton Life Wotton, [He] freely gave up his Crown.., making a holy retreat to a Cloysteral life. 1738 Pope Epil. Sat. ii. 78 In the clear, still Mirror of Retreat, I study'd Shrewsbury, the wise and great. 1769 Junius Lett. i. (1788) 37 No expence should be spared to secure to him an honourable and affluent retreat. 1800 Wellesley in Owen Desp. (1877) 652 Prohibiting the grant of pensions of retreat to the civil service. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 168 His death, which took place not long after his retreat from public life. 1870 Dickens E. Drood xvii, An air of retreat and solitude hung about the rooms, and about their inhabitant. |
c. Eccl. A period of complete seclusion devoted to religious exercises.
| 1756 Gentl. Mag. XXVI. 342 Such retirement being in the language of Roman Catholics called a retreat, and on the last day of such a retreat Bower writes his letter. 1862 Union Newspaper 11 Apr., There was some hope of a retreat being held for laymen in London. 1874 R. S. Wilberforce Life Bp. Wilberforce (1882) 56 note, When the Retreat was over..the Bishop of Capetown, who had been present throughout the Retreat, sent to the college. |
5. a. A place of seclusion or privacy; a retired place or residence; † a private chamber.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xcvi, In a retrete lytill of compas, Depeyntit all with sighis.., Fond I Venus vpon hir bed. c 1500 Melusine 294 Þey conduyted hym vnto a leghe nygh to the sayd geauntis retrette or pryue dwellyng. 1638 Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II.) 156, I am promised a retreate three miles from Bloys. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 216 With spreading Planes he made a cool Retreat, To shade good Fellows from the Summer's Heat. c 1709 Prior Callimachus to Jupiter 16 Holy Retreat! Sithence no Female hither..Must dare approach. 1766 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. IV. 487, I still long after a retreat somewhere about you, or in Normandy, if a proper place could be found. 1831 Lytton Eugene Aram i. x, But note how far more pure and lovely are its waters in these retreats. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 54 Hermitages and retreats existed there at a very early time. |
| transf. 1850 W. Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. v. (1858) 66 Into this odorous retreat it is the duty of one man immediately to descend. |
b. A place of refuge or resort.
| 1662 J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 116 It serves for a retreat to all Vessels which are constrained to quit the Coast of Gusuratta during the Winter season. 1697 Dryden æneid x. 1306 Let my Body have, The last Retreat of Human kind, a Grave. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 146 ¶7 Nor is it certain, that even of these dark and narrow habitations, these last retreats of fame, the possession will be long kept. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 592 This territory might be..transferred to the unfortunate of all Nations, to serve them as a retreat. 1840 Thirlwall Greece VII. 227 To make themselves masters of a part of the southern coast of Asia Minor, so as to provide a retreat for either in case of need. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xix. IV. 243 That the building commenced by Charles should be completed, and should be a retreat for seamen disabled in the service of their country. |
| transf. 1669 R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 465 The Commissionaire's place in the Treasury..will be a good retreat for me when the King shall have no more occasion of my service here. 1769 Junius Lett. xxxv. (1788) 176 The mistakes of one sex find a retreat in patriotism, those of the other in devotion. |
c. A hiding-place; a lair or den.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 131 At no time are they found at any great distance from their retreats. 1832 R. & J. Lander Exped. Niger I. v. 201 In my progress I disturbed a tiger-cat from his retreat among the rocks. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 285 It was often found impossible to track the robbers to their retreats among the hills. |
† d. A privy. Obs. rare—1.
| 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. xl, The jakes and retreats of a house. |
e. An establishment to which insane persons or habitual inebriates are admitted in order that they may be under proper supervision or control.
| 1797 [W. Tuke] (title), The State of an Institution near York, called the Retreat, for persons afflicted with Disorders of the Mind. 1835 Southey Let. Apr., I was under the necessity of taking my poor wife to the Retreat for Lunatics near York. 1850 5th Ann. Rep. Comm. Lunacy 4 ‘Claxton Grange Retreat,’ near York, has been licensed..for private and pauper patients. 1879 Act 42 & 43 Vict. c. 19 §3 ‘A retreat’ means a house licensed..for the reception, control, care, and curative treatment of habitual drunkards. |
† 6. a. The setting of a constellation, star, etc. (Cf. retrait n.1 4.) Obs.—1
| 1601 Holland Pliny xvii. xviii. I. 522 All other sorts [of trees]..are to be planted in mid-Winter, namely, after the retreat of the starre called Sagitta. |
† b. Return, revenge. Obs. rare—1.
| 1615 Chapman Odyss. i. 59 As now ægisthus,..to shunne his ill, Incurr'd it..In slaughtering Atrides in retreate. |
† 7. Farriery. (See quot. and retrait n.1 5.) Obs.
| 1580 Blundevil Horsemanship iv. cxlvii, Of a Retreate. This is the pricking of a naile, not well driuen in the shooing, and therefore pulled out againe by the Smith. |
8. Arch. Recessed work; a recess or recessed part in a wall, etc.
| 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 145 There are six Figures on each side..and as many on the border in right Angle: all this in retreat. 1723 Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Archit. I. 96 A little Indenture or Retreat, BC, not exceeding a Minute in depth. 1727–38 ― Cycl. s.v., Where the foundation is very large, they usually make two or three retreats. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 269 The retreat or lessening, has a width of 1 foot. |
† 9. Law. Redemption, recovery. (See quots.) Obs.
| 1682 Warburton Hist. Guernsey (1822) 90 Retreat of inheritance is taken from the custom of Normandy. Ibid. 91 The next of kin shall have but a year and a day to bring his enrollement, and if he neglects that time, he will be excluded from his retreat. |
10. Comb., as retreat house.
| 1920 J. F. Briscoe in Rep. First Anglo-Catholic Congress 182 There ought to be a retreat-house in every diocese. 1958 Church Times 14 Feb. 10/3 With its membership growing, part of the accommodation in the retreat house has had to be taken to house the brethren. 1979 Country Life 6 Dec. 2188/3 Rydal Hall..was leased to the diocese of Carlisle..as a retreat house and conference centre. |
▪ II. retreat, v.1
(rɪˈtriːt)
Forms: 4–5 retrete, 5–6 retret, 6 retreyte, 6–7 retreit(t, 6– retreat (6 -te).
[ad. OF. retraire (pa. pple. retrait) or retraiter to withdraw, retraitier to retract, with vowel accommodated to the n.]
1. intr. To withdraw, retire, draw back.
| 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 242 Whyle that a man slepyth, al the wittis restyth; and than retretith the natural hette that spredyth abrode throgh al the body. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 33 b, Then the kynge retreted to Gingate. 1642 H. More Song of Soul iii. i. 6 When base worms have eat His mouldring brains, and spirits have retreat From whence they came. 1671 Grew Anat. Pl. i. ii. (1682) 15 The remainder, though not united to it,..thus retreats, that is,..is in part carried off into the Cortical Body back again. 1704 Pope Summer 86 But see, the shepherds shun the noonday heat, The lowing herds to murm'ring brooks retreat. 1769 Junius Lett. xv. (1788) 89 You have now carried things too far to retreat. 1843 Ld. Cockburn Jrnl. II. 8 It may be predicted with absolute certainty that all these judgments will be retreated from. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xvi. 112 Sometimes..we were compelled to retreat to the highest cliffs. |
b. Of an army or a combatant: To retire before superior force or after a defeat.
| 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. vi. 15 She him forced backward to retreat, And yeeld unto her weapon way to pas. a 1604 Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 156 The souldiers take hart, and drive the Irish to retreit. 1645 Whitelock Mem. 3 Mar., Major Blundell..came up and charged the enemy, retreated, and came on again. 1716 Pope Iliad v. 863 Slow they retreat, and, e'en retreating, fight. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy vi. xxxiv, We will..demolish..the rest, one by one,..as we retreat towards the town. 1802 James Milit. Dict. s.v., The several component parts of a line or battalion, which alternately retreat and face in the presence of an enemy. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 286 He..is said..to have shed tears when he saw his troops retreat from the field. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 341/1 To retreat with a harassed and broken army is the most difficult position a commander can be put in. |
c. In pa. pple. with is, was, etc.
| 1648 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 224 The enemy is retreated from Stanwicke this morninge. 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xvii. 126 There was some Air retreated thither that kept the Mercury out of the unreplenish'd space. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 547 Others more milde, Retreated in a silent valley, sing With notes Angelical..Thir own Heroic deeds and hapless fall. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §241 The tide being then retreated. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. (1858) 154 King Henry and his force got safely retreated. |
d. To recede.
| 1863 Hawthorne Our Old Home I. 113 The forehead..retreats somewhat. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 230 Between these two points the hills retreat from the lake in the form of a semicircle. |
2. trans. To draw or lead back; to remove, take away. Now chiefly in Chess, to move (a piece) back from a forward or threatened position.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxc. 225 He retreated all his menne as soberly as he might. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 121 b, He did what he might to retreate the souldiers. 1589 Greene Tullies Love Wks. (Grosart) VII. 161 Thinking by retreating Terentia from the chace, to be mistresse of the game hir selfe. 1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. Senault's Man bec. Guilty 57 When Originall righteousness was retreated the Elements began to mutiny. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 319 The most agreeable Life that..a Man always bred to Misfortunes was capable of being retreated to. 1724 ― Mem. Cavalier (1840) 66 As they were wheeled, or marched, or retreated by their officers. 1847 Staunton Chess Player's Hdbk. 203 Provided Black retreats his B. to Q. Kt.'s 3rd. 1886 Illustr. Lond. News 28 Aug. 235 He had no choice but to retreat the bishop. |
† b. refl. To retire, withdraw. Obs. rare.
| 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 7 Preamble, Suche persones as so retret and absent theymself. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 447/1 They flee by night and retrete themself in the darke. 1572 Deposit. in Old Ways (1892) 32 Therfore this deponent did retreat herself unto the other man, with whom she hath now married. |
c. To retrace, go back on (one's course). rare—1.
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 79 His dreadfull voice..toward the Crystall of his double source Compelled Jordan to retreat his course. |
† d. To diminish, reduce. Obs. rare—1.
| 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xvi. §5 And so again, by abstracting an unit from each Collection, retreat and lessen them. |
† 3. Sc. To retract, revoke. Obs.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xiv. 51 Sa mony ane sentence retreitit, for to win Geir and acquentance. 1558 Knox First Blast (Arb.) 49 With common consent they oght to retreate that, which vnaduisedlie..they haue pronounced. 1581–2 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 454 [The king] revokis, retretis, cassis and annullis, all..rateficationis of the said tak. 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 500 Some surpryzed with it, upon better and second thoughts retreated their subscriptions. 1678 Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. i. §iii. (1699) 4 The L. of Session thought it not derogatory from their Honour, to retreat a Sentence after Debate. |
† 4. Law. To redeem. Also absol. Obs. rare.
| 1682 Warburton Hist. Guernsey (1822) 91 A. does by reason of proximity, enroll himself to retreat such an inheritance as B. has purchased of C. his kinsman. Ibid., The next of kin to the seller shall have but a year and a day to retreat. |
Hence reˈtreated ppl. a.
| 1665 Dryden Indian Queen i. i, Rather to your retreated Troops appear, And let them see a Woman void of Fear. |