[di-tent] 
| a mechanism that temporarily keeps one part in a certain position relative to that of another, and can be released by applying force to one of the parts. |
| de·tent (dĭ-těnt') n. A catch or lever that locks the movement of one part of a mechanism. [French détente, a loosening, from Old French destente, from feminine past participle of destendre, to release : des-, de- + tendre, to stretch (from Latin tendere; see ten- in Indo-European roots).] |
