Etymograph

English

retain

Retain comes from Middle French retenir ‘to keep’, from Latin teneō ‘hold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēō1‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneō1‘hold’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEretineō2‘to keep or hold back, detain, retain’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEretinēre2present active infinitive of retineō
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*retinīre2reconstructed
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600retenir2‘to keep’
  9. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400reteiner2
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reteinen2
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1526retain2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin retineo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English retain
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Receave the holy gooſt: whoſoevers ſynnes ye remyt⸝ they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, Latin retineo‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yétiWiktionary, Latin retineoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēōWiktionary, Latin retineo‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneōWiktionary, Latin retineo‘hold’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEretineōWiktionary, English retain‘to keep or hold back, detain, retain’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEretinēreWiktionary, English retainpresent active infinitive of retineō
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*retinīreWiktionary, English retainreconstructed
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600retenirWiktionary, English retain‘to keep’
  9. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400reteinerWiktionary, English retain
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reteinenWiktionary, English retain
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1526retainWiktionary, English retain. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Receave the holy gooſt: whoſoevers ſynnes ye remyt⸝ they…”

The story

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’)). 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.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’

tight, tone, ton, tune, maintenance, entertainment, tender, obtain, tonic, tendon, pertinent, pristine, 71 more

through Proto-Italic *tenēō ‘to hold’

container, 20 more

through Latin teneō ‘hold’

content, continue, tennis, continuous, continent, contain, tenant, detention, tenor, sustain, continuum, abstinence, detain, 32 more

through Latin retineō ‘to keep or hold back, detain, retain’

retention, rein, 2 more

Today it means

verb Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “retain”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin retineo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ten- / retain

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