rə̇ˈtān, rēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English reteinen, retainen, from Middle French retenir, from Old French, from Latin retinēre, from re- + -tinēre (from tenēre to hold) — more at thin
transitive verb
1. obsolete : restrain , prevent
2.
a. : to hold or continue to hold in possession or use : continue to have, use, recognize, or accept : maintain in one's keeping
a person does not always retain his human form or qualities — Frederica de Laguna
some of the terms are retained today because of constant use — R.L.Whistler
retained his seat on the bench of the Supreme Court — T.P.Abernethy
b. : to keep in pay or in one's service
was retained to make a survey of operations of the agency — Current Biography
retains the clinic to examine all its employees — Stuart Chase
specifically : to employ (a lawyer) by paying a preliminary fee that secures a prior claim upon services in case of need
c. : to keep in mind or memory : remember
each of the principals in his way has retained the imprint of a hideous scene — Sylvia Berkman
3. : to hold secure or intact (as in a fixed place or condition) : prevent escape, loss, leakage, or detachment of
the habit of chewing betel leaf and retaining the cud against the mucous lining of the cheek — New York Times Magazine
available water which could be … retained by small dams — F.J.R.Rodd
modern mammals … retained the egg within the body after fertilization — Weston La Barre
intransitive verb
obsolete : to serve as a retainer : belong , pertain
Synonyms: see keep