retentive
English
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Middle French rétentif, from Old French retentif, from Medieval Latin retentivus, from Latin retentus.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ɹɪˈtɛntɪv/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adjective
editretentive (comparative more retentive, superlative most retentive)
- Having power to retain
- a retentive memory
- a soil that is highly retentive of rainwater
- 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit.
- (slang, apocope) anal-retentive
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editNoun
editretentive (plural retentives)
- (obsolete) That which retains or confines; a restraint.
References
edit- “retentive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Italian
editAdjective
editretentive
Anagrams
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- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ten-
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- English terms derived from Latin
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