to continue to use, practice, etc.: to retain an old custom.
3.
to continue to hold or have: to retain a prisoner in custody; a cloth that retains its color.
4.
to keep in mind; remember.
5.
to hold in place or position.
6.
to engage, especially by payment of a preliminary fee: to retain a lawyer.
Origin: 1350–1400;Middle Englishreteinen < Old Frenchretenir < Latinretinēre to hold back, hold fast, equivalent to re-re- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre to hold
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
late 14c., from O.Fr. retenir, from L. retinere "hold back," from re- "back" + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Meaning "keep (another) attached to one's person, keep in service" is from mid-15c.; specifically of lawyers from 1540s.