Etymology
1. c.1386, 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 1450; specifically of lawyers, 1548.
2. From Late Middle English reteinen, retein (“to continue to keep, retain; to continue to possess; to possess; to contain; to draw back, retire; to hold back, restrain; to keep in mind, remember; to take back, repossess; to appoint; to engage in one’s service, employ, hire”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reteiner, retenir [and other forms], Middle French retenir, and Old French retenir (“to keep back, retain; to keep, maintain, preserve; to possess; to engage in one’s service, employ; to detain; to hold back, restrain; to remember”) (modern French retenir), from Vulgar Latin *retinīre, from Latin retinēre, the present active infinitive of retineō (“to keep or hold back, detain, retain; to hold in check, stop; to hold fast, maintain; to keep in mind, remember”) (compare Late Latin retineō (“to keep engaged in one’s service”)), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + teneō (“to grasp, hold; to hold fast, restrain; to possess; to keep in mind, remember”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to extend, stretch”)).
3. Etymology 1 sense 1.10 (“to declare (a sin) not forgiven”) is derived from John 20:23 in the Bible, in Late Latin quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt, and in Koine Greek ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται: see the 1526 quotation.
4. Cognates
5. * Catalan retenir
6. * Italian retenere (obsolete), ritenere
7. * Portuguese reter
8. * Spanish retener See: Anglo-Norman '
reteiner', Old French '
retenir', French '
retenir', Valencian '
retenir', Italian '
retenere', Portuguese '
reter', Spanish '
retener'.