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Webster 1913 Edition


Retainer

Re-tain′er

,
Noun.
1.
One who, or that which, retains.
2.
One who is retained or kept in service; an attendant; an adherent; a hanger-on.
3.
Hence, a servant, not a domestic, but occasionally attending and wearing his master’s livery.
Cowell.
4.
(Law)
(a)
The act of a client by which he engages a lawyer or counselor to manage his cause.
(b)
The act of withholding what one has in his hands by virtue of some right.
(c)
A fee paid to engage a lawyer or counselor to maintain a cause, or to prevent his being employed by the opposing party in the case; – called also
retaining fee
.
Bouvier.
Blackstone.
5.
The act of keeping dependents, or the state of being in dependence.
Bacon.

Webster 1828 Edition


Retainer

RETA'INER

, n.
1.
One who retains; as an executor, who retains a debt due from the testator.
2.
One who is kept in service; an attendant; as the retainers of the ancient princes and nobility.
3.
An adherent; a dependant; a hanger on.
4.
A servant, not a domestic, but occasionally attending and wearing his master's livery.
5.
Among lawyers, a fee paid to engage a lawyer or counselor to maintain a cause.
6.
The act of keeping dependents, or being in dependence.

Definition 2024


retainer

retainer

English

Noun

retainer (plural retainers)

  1. Any thing or person that retains.
  2. A dependent or follower of someone of rank.
  3. A paid servant, especially one who has been employed for many years.
  4. A fee one pays to reserve the other's time for services.
    This lawyer charges a retainer for his work.
  5. (dentistry) A device that holds teeth in position after orthodontic treatment.

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