▪ I. † reˈtain, n. Obs. rare.
[f. the vb.]
1. Retention; retainment.
| 1455 Rolls of Parlt. V. 307/1 Content and satisfied by waye of retayn of the seid summe. 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (Camden) 99 Reteyn of Stranger. |
2. Retinue.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 81 b, The kynge of Englande..and his retain in sute lyke. Ibid. 82 Thus the two kynges & their retaine toke the felde. |
▪ II. retain, v.
(rɪˈteɪn)
Forms: 5–6 reteign(e, (5 reteyign); 5 reteyene, 5–7 reteyn(e; 5–7 reteine, 7 retein; 5–7 retayn, 6–7 retaine, 6– retain; 5 retenne, retene (6 Sc.), retine (7 Sc.), 6 reteane.
[ad. OF. retenir (= Sp. retener, It. ritenere, L. retinēre), f. re- re- and tenir to hold. For the vowel of the stem cf. contain, detain, etc.]
I. trans.
† 1. a. To restrain; to hold back, check, or stop; to prevent or hinder. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶46 (Lands. MS.), Þere bue mony þinges þat shold reteyne ȝowe of vengeance takeinge. c 1477 Caxton Jason 8 Whan..hercules and..Jason had retayned the Centaurs, they had eche of them a bowe whiche they bende. 1481 ― Godf. xlviii. 88 They armed them and reteyned theyr peple that began to flee. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 101 b, He is bound that he should neuer retayne the Swyches from the Emperor. 1594 Parsons Confer. Success. ii. ii. 10 It is hard to retayne a mans consent from that which is said vntil he haue read the reasons of the other party. 1639 S. Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 279 Barsimee retained by a certaine shamefastnesse..would by no meanes yeeld to marry. 1695 Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. (1699) 287 He..had killed him if his Brother Robert had not retained him. 1737 Gentl. Mag. VII. 35/1 The untouchable foot retain'd the grave Spaniards from intermedling in so delicate an Affair. |
b. refl. To restrain or contain (oneself). rare.
| c 1440 Generydes 1543 For your wurchippe yow most your self reteyne, And take a good avise in this mater. 1869 Daily News 30 Oct., Lord Stanley, who retained himself during the greater part of the service, was completely overcome. |
c. To keep in custody or under control; to prevent from departing, issuing, or separating; to hold fixed in some place or position.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxix. 237 My brother and his wyf..I haue retayned them in my pryson. c 1550 Rhodes Bk. Nurture 740 in Babees Bk. 102 For empty fystes, men vse to say, cannot the Hawke retayne. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. iii. i, I can make this Dog take as many Whiffes as I list, and he shall retain, or effume them, at my pleasure. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 51 On this and the East sides, are two Mils to retaine the water when the Sea ebs. 1674 Brevint Saul at Endor 223 May not one as well curse, whom God blesses, as retain or bind whom God remits? 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. II. xii. 242 Cicero..sends immediately certain Senators, to retain the People in their Duty. 1809 A. Henry Trav. 123 The skin, which alone retained his hand to his arm, he cut through. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xliii. (1856) 400 It acted like a camel, retaining the brig's stern high in the air. 1873 G. Fleming Pract. Horse-shoeing (ed. 2) 100 The extra strain on the nails retaining it [the bar shoe] to the hoof. |
| absol. 1634 J. Levett Ordering of Bees 59 They haue no Intraylls or other inward Organs, by which either to retaine or evacuat. |
d. To keep free from something. rare—1.
| 1863 Cowden Clarke Shaks. Char. viii. 197 He has retained the two women from the remotest charge of unfeminity. |
2. † a. To entertain. Obs. rare.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10936 The grekes fayne of þat freike..Retaynit hym with Reuerence. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 33 A relygyous place..wher wurshepfully Austyn was reteynyd and cherytabylly. c 1550 Rhodes Bk. Nurture 745 in Babees Bk. 102 Retayne a straunger after his estate and degree. 1575–85 Abp. Sandys Serm. xi. 235 God is woont euer to blesse the countrie, for reteining and releeuing godlie religious strangers. |
b. To keep attached to one's person or engaged in one's service. retain-and-transfer attrib. phr., in Assoc. Football (see quot. 1965).
| 1450 Rolls of Parlt. V. 178/2 The said Duke..beyng reteigned with you, in your wages of werre in your seid Reame. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iii. viii. 182, I suppose that a capytayne with a companye of folke be reteyned in to the kynges wages. 1536 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 38 The kinges pleasour is ye shal there reteyne onely foure clerkes. 1545 Brinklow Compl. 37 b, Many noble men..retayne seruantys & neuer gyue them peny wages. 1623 T. Powell Attourn. Acad. 123 If this bee done with a single Vowcher, you are to retaine three Sergeants. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 376 The Suffee retains several [physicians] in Ordinary and others in Extraordinary. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. viii. I. 168 A great number of knights were retained in his service. 1882 C. Pebody Eng. Journalism xix. 145 Mr. Levy..retained as contributors and critics men who were at least equal to those upon the staff of either of its contemporaries. 1938 C. E. Sutcliffe et al. Story of Football League xiii. 120 A result which had completely vindicated the retain and transfer system and declared it to be legal. 1965 Listener 1 July 17/1 A ‘retain and transfer’ system... A player employed by a club could be ‘retained’ after the expiration of his contract of employment. No other club was then allowed to employ him, although his own club had no obligation to re-employ him. He could also be placed on a ‘transfer’ list, which signified that his club was willing to transfer him for a specified fee, only a small portion of which went to the player himself. 1974 Scholarly Publishing V. 235 The Times New Roman Type..was unacceptable, and consultants had to be retained to redesign it. |
| absol. 1540 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 267 Syr ther was also layde vnto my Charge at myne examenacyon that I hadde retaynyd contrarye to your lawse. |
† c. To engage, hire. Obs. rare—1.
| 1476 Procl. in York Myst. Introd. p. xxxvii, Þat no plaier..be conducte and reteyned to plaie but twise on þe day of þe saide playe. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 161 Having retained Mules for myself and Company, I made Provisions of Bread, Wine [etc.]. |
d. To engage (a barrister) by the payment of a preliminary fee, in order to secure his services for one's own cause if necessary.
| 1548 Elyot, Cliens..is also he whiche hath retayned a lawyer to susteyne his matter. 1550 Crowley Last Trumpet 922 Whye wylt thou be retained of playntyfe, or of defendaunt? 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. iv. ii, Let me retaine you this terme for my cause. 1644 Bulwer Chiron. 52 In those large pewes, where those that were retained in causes did plead. 1775 J. Rayner Readings on Statutes 116 If the Matter was communicated to the Attorney or Solicitor, as a Secret, before he was employed or retained in the Cause. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxi, ‘Mr. Pickwick is the defendant in Bardwell and Pickwick, Serjeant Snubbin,’ said Perker. ‘I am retained in that, am I?’ said the Serjeant. 1892 Pall Mall G. 4 July 2/2 The erroneous impression that the retaining of a barrister consists mainly in the retention of the fee by the barrister retained. |
| transf. 1863 Sat. Rev. 2 May, The Neapolitan bishops.. may occasionally be ashamed,..since the fall of the hateful power which they were retained to support. |
3. a. To keep hold or possession of; to continue having or keeping, in various senses.
| c 1450 Godstow Reg. 337 Þat he sholde haue power to distreine hem in all þe maners a-fore-seide & holde or reteine þe distreininge. 1490 Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 102 To deliver one parte to Mr. Blount, & retine another parte for you with the obligation. a 1542 Wyatt in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 55 My loue to skorne, my seruice to retayne, Therein (me thought) you vsed crueltie. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 95 [He] will yet not withstanding reteane the same charge and function to himself still. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. x. 10 Taking downe the shield with me [I] did it retaine. 1622 J. Reynolds God's Revenge i. 12 Retayning a fine little white Frizland dogge, which his Page had stolne from her. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 532 His Power no less he seem'd Above the rest still to retain. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. xxxii. 511 The executor..is allowed to pay himself first; by retaining in his hands so much as his debt amounts to. 1825 Cobbett Rur. Rides 469 It seems to me to absorb and to retain the water. 1841 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) III. 115 Lord Sidmouth retains his unmarried daughter. 1877 Froude Short Stud. (1883) IV. 27 He still aimed at retaining the most lucrative of his benefices. |
| absol. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 511 An executor of his own wrong is not allowed to retain. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr tr. Ranke's Hist. Servia 288 Some men are more competent to acquire than to retain. |
b. In renderings or echoes of John xx. 23 (ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται; quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt).
| 1526 Tindale John xx. 23. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 7 Quhais sinnis ȝe retene, ar retenit vnto thame. 1606 Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows 121, I will so remit wrongs,..and so reteine them, as I may not induce God to reteine mine to him. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xlii. 277 Refuse entrance into his Kingdom, to those whose Sins were Retained. 1674 Brevint Saul at Endor 222 Where the power of Loosing and Remitting, follows close to that of Retaining and Binding. |
c. To continue to use, practise, recognize, etc.
| 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Offices 35 b, Some [ceremonies] be retayned and kept still. 1596 Drayton Legends iii. 385 When the Barons found me to retayne Th'ambitious course wherein I first began. c 1613 Rowlands More Knaues Yet? 5, I thinke before the Conquest many yeares, We wore the fashion which we still retaine. 1654 Bramhall Just Vind. ii. (1661) 7 Yet both retein Communion with the universal Church. 1737 Gentl. Mag. VII. 142/1 We have good Reason to exclude the 330 Kings..and retain only those who have left standing Monuments. 1855 Pusey Doctr. Real Presence (1857) ii. 174 The Eastern Liturgies still for the most part retain the form of asserting the Real Presence. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 224 It seemed better..to retain the order in which Plato himself has arranged this and the two companion dialogues. |
d. To continue to have or possess (some attribute, quality, etc.).
| 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. 1 b, He gaue to the Ports..theyr names, which at this present they doe retaine. 1634 Milton Comus 842 Still she retains Her maid'n gentlenes. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 10 A kind of Stone that long retains its whiteness. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. Pref., Shall we borrow and retain the faults, the corruptions of the French? 1799 Sheridan Pizarro ii. iv, Oh, had I still retained my sight, I might now have grasped a sword. 1841 D'Israeli Amen. Lit. (1867) 64 The hills, the forests, and the rivers retain their old Celtic names. 1871 B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §12 They always retain unchanged their state with respect to heat. |
e. To allow to remain, in place of discarding or removing; to preserve.
| 1802 Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) I. xi. 357 Many of the old words are retained, which neither the reciter nor the copyer understood. 1835 Lytton Rienzi ii. i, But still to this day are retained the massive walls. |
4. To keep or bear in mind; to remember.
| 1474 Caxton Chesse 159 Longe talis & historyes whiche they can not al reteyne in her mynde. c 1500 Melusine 38 Now vnderstand & reteyne wel my wordes. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. ii. 13 If you wyl do as I shall you saye, And all my lesson retayne in memory. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage i. vii. (1614) 40 The people haue retained the tradition hereof [the flood]. 1666 Act 18 & 19 Chas. II, c. 8 §26 That the said Citizens..may retaine the Memoriall of soe sadd a Desolation. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. ix. 62 The Tune I still retain, but not the Words. 1731–8 Swift Polite Conv. Introd. 78 With what Attention I listened to all their Discourses, the better to retain them in my Memory. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. i. 113 It requires a pretty good memory to retain these distinctions. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 322 In waking thoughts she still retains The memory of these wildering pains. 1883 Wace Gospel & Witnesses iv. 85 The mind..unable to retain any but the simplest thought. |
| absol. 1581 Mulcaster Positions v. (1887) 27 That witte maie conceiue and learne well, memorie retaine and hold fast. 1748 Gray Alliance 30 With Sense to feel, with Mem'ry to retain. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 524 A well-constructed brain, Keen in pursuit, and vig'rous to retain. 1910 E. B. Titchener Textbk. Psychol. II. 405 The quick learner appears to retain as well as the slow. 1932 New Yorker 23 July 17/3 Prior to 1882, even a boy who didn't retain very well could make a kite out of two or three sticks. |
II. intr.
5. To refrain from something.
| 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. 102 Vespasian..had sic compassion, that he micht not retene fra teris. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. v. i, They can scarce retaine from bursting foorth In plaine revolt. |
† 6. To adhere, belong, be attached, or be a retainer to one. Also transf. Obs.
| 1548 Elyot, Cliens, is he that belongeth or reteyneth to som man in authoritee, to haue his defence and assistence in honest causes. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Acts 48 b, He was reteynyng to Sergius Paulus, whiche was proconsull. a 1591 H. Smith Serm. (1637) 156 As many retaine unto Noblemen, not to doe them any service, but to have their countenance. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. viii. 440 Those other Rils to Seuerne which retaine, And tended not on Teame. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 42 Not only the Sadduces and such as retaine unto the Church of God. 1681 Nevile Plato Rediv. 135 Most of the Members..thought it an honour to retain to some great Lord, and to wear his blew Coat. 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 320 Idea! wait a while till I have examin'd thee, whence thou art, and to whom thou retain'st. Art thou of ambition's train? |
† 7. To continue, remain. Obs. rare—1.
| a 1631 Donne Ep. C'tess Huntingdon 109 No more can impure man retain and move In that pure region of a worthy love. |