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Webster 1913 Edition


Retention

Re-ten′tion

,
Noun.
[L.
retentio
: cf. F.
rétention
. See
Retain
.]
1.
The act of retaining, or the state of being ratined.
2.
The power of retaining; retentiveness.
No woman’s heart
So big, to hold so much; they lack
retention
.
Shakespeare
3.
That which contains something, as a tablet; a [GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK] of preserving impressions.
[R.]
Shak.
4.
The act of withholding; retraint; reserve.
Shak.
5.
Place of custody or confinement.
6.
(Law)
The right of withholding a debt, or of retaining property until a debt due to the person claiming the right be duly paid; a lien.
Erskine. Craig.
Retention cyst
(Med.)
,
a cyst produced by obstruction of a duct leading from a secreting organ and the consequent retention of the natural secretions.

Webster 1828 Edition


Retention

RETEN'TION

,
Noun.
[L. retentio, retineo; re and teneo, to hold.]
1.
The act of retaining or keeping.
2.
The power of retaining; the faculty of the mind by which it retains ideas.
3.
In medicine, the power of retaining, or that state of contraction in the solid or vascular parts of the body, by which they hold their proper contents and prevent in voluntary evacuations; undue retention of some natural discharge.
4.
The act of withholding; restraint.
5.
Custody; confinement. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024


retention

retention

See also: rétention

English

Noun

retention (plural retentions)

  1. The act of retaining or something retained
  2. The act or power of remembering things
  3. A memory; what is retained in the mind
  4. (medicine) The involuntary withholding of urine and faeces
  5. (medicine) The length of time an individual remains in treatment
  6. (obsolete) That which contains something, as a tablet; a means of preserving impressions.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  7. (obsolete) The act of withholding; restraint; reserve.
  8. (obsolete) A place of custody or confinement.
  9. (law) 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.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Erskine to this entry?)
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Craig to this entry?)

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