Retention
Origin
From Middle English retencioun, from Latin retentiÅ (""), from retentus (""), the perfect passive participle of retineÅ ("retain") (from re- ("back, again") + teneÅ ("hold, keep")).
Full definition of retention
Noun
retention
(plural retentions)- The act of retaining or something retained
- 1599, William Shakespeare, , II. iv. 95:No woman's heart
So big, to hold so much; they lack retention. - The act or power of remembering things
- A memory; what is retained in the mind
- (medicine) The involuntary withholding of urine and faeces
- (obsolete) That which contains something, as a tablet; a means of preserving impressions.
- (obsolete) The act of withholding; restraint; reserve.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, , V. i. 79:His life I gave him, and did thereto add
My love without retention or restraint, - (obsolete) A place of custody or confinement.
- (legal) The right to withhold a debt, or of retaining property until a debt due to the person claiming the right is duly paid; a lien.