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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Re-tĕn′tion, n.

noun

(-tĕn′shun), n. [Fr. rétention, Sp. retencion, It. retenzione, ritenzione, Pr. & Lat. retentio. See RETAIN.]

  1. The act of retaining or keeping; the state of being retained or confined; custody.
  2. The power of retaining; the faculty of the mind by which it retains ideas.

No woman's heart So big to hold so much, they lack retention. Shak.

  1. That which holds or contains something, as a tablet. [Obs. and rare.] Shak.
  2. The act of withholding; restraint. Shak.
  3. Custody; confinement.
  4. (Law.) The right of withholding a debt or of retaining property until a debt due to the person claiming this right be duly paid; a lien.

Erskine. Craig.