retentiven.

Brit.

/rᵻˈtɛntɪv/, U.S.

/rəˈtɛn(t)ɪv/,

/riˈtɛn(t)ɪv/

Forms: Middle English rentive (transmission error), Middle English retentif, Middle English retentiff, Middle English retentyf, Middle English–1500s retentyve, 1500s retentyue, 1500s–1600s retentiue, 1600s– retentive; also Scottish pre-1700 retentywe.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: retentive adj.¹

Etymology: < retentive adj.¹ In sense 2 perhaps after either Middle French, French †retentive memory, faculty of apprehending and retaining things with the mind (c1400) or Italian ritentiva, †retentiva memory (1319). Compare also French †retentive capacity to retain nourishment, moderation (both 1611 in Cotgrave). Compare retention n.

†1. The capacity to retain nourishment; cf. retention n. 1b, retentive adj.¹ 1. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > secretory organs > action or process of secreting > [noun] > resorption, retention, or recruitment

retentivea1398

retention?a1425

resorption1714

recruitment1948

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 23 Þe vertu of appetite worchiþ with hote and drye..& þe retentif with colde & drye [L. et ideo siuet vis appetitiua operatur cum calido et sicco..et retentiua cum frigido et sicco].

?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Cci The sayd vegetable hath in her foure vertues, by the whiche she subsiste and groweth that is to saye, the atractyue; or appetityue, the retentyue the digestyue, and expulsiue.

1651 P. Armin tr. F. Glisson et al. Treat. Rickets xii. 107 The Attractive is somwhat more slow than ought to be; the Retentive, by reason of the internal lubricity is somwhat weaker.

†2. The power or faculty of retaining in the mind what is learnt or experienced; recollection, memory; cf. retention n. 2a. In later use (in plural): the retentive faculties; cf. perceptive n. 2, reflective n. 2. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > [noun]

retention?a1425

retentive?a1439

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iii. 3299 (MED) His witt enclyned to manyfold sciences, Hadde off kunnyng a passyng retentiff.

c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 3735 (MED) Al that she taught him for his prowe Was voyde out of hys retentyf.

1453–4 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Mar. 1453 §30. m. 19 Besekyng the seid lieutenaunt and lordes, to call to theire good retentyve and wyse remembraunce, the grauntes that were made by theym to the kyng.

c1480 (a1400) St. Ninian 42 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 305 In his hart [he] wele held It—sic retentywe he had of wit.

1562 W. Fulwood tr. G. Gratarolus Castel of Mem. ii. sig. B.vi Moistnes is contrary to the retentyue, the whiche is comforted with a proportioned drines.

1594 L. Lewkenor tr. O. de la Marche Resolued Gentleman f. 25 Yf your wittes be not able to comprehende them, nor no wysedome, learning, or retentiue, able to register them, then rest assured, that the force of your aduersaries are mightie.

1852 A. J. Davis Great Harmonia III. xxi. 290 The perceptives, the retentives, the reflectives,..and the religious faculties are—one and all—in a high state of exaltation.

1899 J. E. Sherrill New Normal Question Bk. (rev. ed.) 487 The reflectives are those faculties by the workings of which one is able to compare and contrast things which have come through the perceptives and retentives.

3. Chiefly Medicine. A medicine or other substance that aids the retention of something within the body. Also: a substance or device that holds something in place. Now rare or disused.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > equipment to retain parts in place

retentive1481

retinaculum1634

remora1674

retractor1758

adjustera1884

pack1916

1481 tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) sig. e6 To knowe the conuenyent dayes and tymes of mynistring of medicines, as laxatyues, dygestiues, expulsifs, and retentifs.

1597 P. Lowe Whole Course Chirurg. vi. sig. T2 If the wounde be great..we vse a suture, with pouders incarnatiue or retentiues.

1719 R. Samber tr. H. Boerhaave Method of studying Physick 298 Diatecice is now used to signify the whole Regimen of a sick Person, as to Meat, Drink, Sleep, Retentives, Motion, Rest, etc.

1744 tr. H. D. Gaubius Lect. Pharmacy 332 Emplasters of the two last degrees of consistence are used mostly for desiccatives, astringents and retentives, etc.

a1786 J. O. Justamond Surg. Tracts (1789) ii. 111 Greasy and unctuous compositions generally increase the evil, and should only be used as retentives to other dressings.

1861 Trans. N.Y. State Agric. Soc. 1860 20 640 Is not the best time to apply retentives when the circulating elements (air and water) are most thoroughly impregnated with organic matter from decaying animal and vegetable substances?

1894 Med. & Surg. Reporter 71 640 The bones should be so divided and brought together in such a manner as will insure the greatest future usefulness of the limb. The retentives should be strong enough and so applied as to hold the parts in a fixed juxtaposition.

1910 A. Haig & K. G. Haig Uric Acid in Clinic iv. 271 The trouble was a gouty gastritis increased by retentives and cold.

†4. The capacity of an object to hold something within itself; cf. retention n. 1c. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > [noun]

holding?c1225

keepingc1400

retainment1449

retainer1453

retain1455

retainingc1460

retainder1467

retinue1489

retentivea1500

retention1540

reservation1607

retainal1754

reserval1829

a1500 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Ashm.) f. 60^v Water vnto erthe hathe ȝyffe ingression..And bothe water & erthe hathe purchasyd retentyve [a1550 Bodl. e Mus. rentive].

†5. A restraining force; a means of restraint or prevention. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > [noun] > means of restraint or restraining force

bridleeOE

bridea1425

restraint1523

aweband1531

bit1546

retentive1580

control1594

curb1613

hank1613

constriction1650

retinue1651

check1661

spigot1780

brake1875

way-chain1884

tab1889

inhibitor1902

check-cord1908

iron maiden1912

inhibition1932

1580 W. Fulke Retentiue 53 The olde fathers were S. Augustines motiue, euen none otherwise, then they are our retentiue, to staye vs in Christian truthe.

1611 Bp. J. Hall Epist. III. vi. iii. 26 Fear is a retentiue as necessary, not so ingenuous.

a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) 785 Then upon this double charge, followeth a double reason; two retentives (as it were) against the first motion.

1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Deut. i. 17) 78 Cato seeth you, was an ancient watchword among the Romans, and a great retentive from evil.

†6. In plural. The organs that retain excreta; the bladder and the rectum. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > secretory organs > organ receiving secretion > [noun]

receptaclea1398

receptory?a1425

receptaculum1667

retentives1678

1678 T. Jones Of Heart & Soveraign §xv. 499 A Weather-Cock in the English, or the retentives of a Suckling, in the Brittish Proverb, cannot be more uncertain, and unsteddy.

1694 Abstersæ Lacrymæ 9 It gave my Heart so sad a break, I vow it made me spring a Leak... In spight of all my best Preventives, I swear I've lost my whole Retentives.

1717 D. Defoe Mem. Church of Scotl. i. 60 The Fright and Terror his Mother was in..so far influenc'd the Child in her Womb, that his Retentives generally fail'd him at the Sight of Weapons ever after.

7. Originally Psychoanalysis. An anal retentive person. Cf. anal retentive adj. and n. (b) at anal adj. and n. Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > neurosis > person

neurotic1835

retentive1968

1968 C. Neuringer in A. I. Rabin Projective Techniques in Personality Assessm. viii. 242 They [sc. F. Pedersen and D. Marlowe] reported that the expulsive subjects could recall more disturbing material than the retentives.

1977 S. Fisher & R. P. Greenberg Sci. Credibility Freud's Theories & Therapy iii. 152 There were suggestions that the expulsives had more difficulty than the retentives in learning the hostile as compared to neutral words.

1986 Telegraph (Melbourne) (Nexis) 20 Aug. It is self-glorifying retentives like you who are keeping Australia the Ozanam House of Western Art.

2005 R. Wood Pushing Envelopes 14 The retentives among them wouldn't have enjoyed his crack.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

retentiveadj.¹

Brit.

/rᵻˈtɛntɪv/, U.S.

/rəˈtɛn(t)ɪv/,

/riˈtɛn(t)ɪv/

Forms: Middle English recentyue (transmission error), Middle English retentatyf (transmission error), Middle English retentif, Middle English retentyf, Middle English retentyff, Middle English–1500s retentyfe, Middle English–1500s retentyue, 1500s retentife, 1500s–1600s retentiue, 1500s– retentive; also Scottish pre-1700 retentywe.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French retentif; Latin retentivus.

Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French retentif (French rétentif , retentif , now rare) designating the ability to retain (earliest in vertu retentive , 13th cent. in Old French), and its etymon (ii) post-classical Latin retentivus capable of retaining (from c1200 in British sources, esp. in medical context and with reference to the mind or the soul; 15th cent. in continental sources), that serves to hold something in the proper place (1363 in Chauliac) < classical Latin retent- , past participial stem of retinēre retain v. + -īvus -ive suffix. Compare Catalan retentiu (14th cent.), Spanish retentivo (c1428 in vertud retentiva ), Portuguese retentivo (15th cent.), Italian ritentivo , †retentivo (a1294). Compare retention n., retain v.

1. Medicine. Designating the ability to retain, or function of retaining, the contents of an organ, esp. the bladder or rectum; possessing this ability. In early use also: †designating the ability to retain nourishment within the body (obsolete). Also figurative and in figurative context.In early use frequently as postmodifier, in †virtue retentive.

ΚΠ

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. xxiv. 922 Þey [sc. the apples of the cypress] helpeþ aȝeins þe flux of þe wombe þat comeþ of defaute of þe vertu retentyf [L. retentiue].

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Ellesmere) (1877) §913 Polucion..comth..Somtyme of infermetee, for the fieblesse of the vertu retentif.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 37^v (MED) By þe longitudinel is maad parfiȝt þe attractif vertu, And by þe latitudynel þe expulsif vertu, And by þe transuersel þe retentif vertu.

1547 R. Record Vrinal of Physick f. 38 This vryne..is the worst of any other of lyke sorte..for it declareth the decay..of two naturall powres, that is the retentyue power, & the alteratyue power also.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xxii. 43 It keepeth Sermons in memorie, and doth in that respect..help the retentiue force of that stomack of the minde.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. Catal. Words Art Retentiue facultie, the naturall power that ech part or member of the body hath to hold that which is committed unto it, the due time.

1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia Isagoge sig. C6^v The fat, hinders appetite..& decayeth the retentive powers.

1683 W. Cave Ecclesiastici Introd. p. lxiii The old doting Nile had lost his retentive faculty, and could no longer hold his Water.

1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 72 Then also the Retentive and Digestive Faculties do cease from their natural Operations.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Faculty Others subdivide the Vegetative Faculty into Attractive, Retentive, Concoctive, and Expulsive.

1792 Monthly Rev. June 143 The complaint, also, may be further distinguished from the stone..by more frequently injuring the retentive power of the bladder.

1827 Lancet 1 Dec. 330/2 During a mismanaged labour, the sphincter ani is sometimes torn, the retentive power of the gut being lost.

1884 Med. Rec. (N.Y.) 20 Sept. 309/2 The form and direction of the rectum,..and its peculiar muscular equipment as a receptive, retentive, and expulsive organ, display a most admirable provision of nature.

1905 Jrnl. Anat. & Physiol. 40 201 This would show that after suprapubic prostatectomy the striped sphincter takes on..the major part of the retentive function.

1966 Lancet 23 Apr. 895/1 Residual urine represents a balance between the propulsive force of the detrusor muscle of the bladder and the retentive power of the sphincter.

1998 T. M. Shaw Burden of Flesh ii. 75 Thus, womb and stomach are linked by their locations in the ‘belly’..and their similar retentive functions.

a. Medicine. That serves to hold something (the edges of a wound, a part of the body, a dressing, etc.) in the proper place.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [adjective] > retaining parts in place

retentive?a1425

translative1567

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 54 (MED) Þer is 3 maner ligaturez: Incarnatyue, Expulsiue, & Retentyue [L. retentiva].

1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. ix. ii. f. 45/1 That ligament, which..cureth, throughe his continuance of the remedyes, which are applyed vnto the dissease, wherfore we may call it the retentive Ligament.

1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. ix. v. 325 The Retentive Ligature is fit for such parts as cannot suffer straight binding.

1767 B. Gooch Pract. Treat. Wounds I. 205 To alter the bandage, making it only retentive.

1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. IV. 347 Many forms of special retentive apparatus [for movable kidney] have been devised.

1913 Lancet 6 Dec. 1616/2 An important part of orthopædic work related to curative, retentive, and supporting appliances.

1926 Amer. Jrnl. Surg. 1 39/1 The retentive bandage should be used with unusual care [in the aged].

2009 Jrnl. Oral & Maxillofacial Surg. 67 382/2 Retentive prosthetic attachments were mounted on the fixtures.

b. Constraining, confining; serving or having the capacity to hold firmly and securely.In early use esp. of a prison.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > [adjective]

retentivea1616

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. iii. 94 Nor ayre-lesse Dungeon, nor strong Linkes of Iron, Can be retentiue to the strength of spirit.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. iv. 82 Are my dores oppos'd against my passage?..must my house Be my retentiue Enemy? My Gaole?

1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iv. 567 Yet still retentive, with redoubled might Thro' each vain passive form [do thou] constrain his flight.

1790 Sunday 20 From bloody whipping post, retentive jail, And gibbet dire, full many a youth to save.

1848 Rural Amusem. vi. 177 Nor could the Trout, with all his struggles, relieve himself from the retentive hold and voracity of the tyrant [sc. a pike].

1889 Notes & Queries 20 Apr. 314/1 She escaped from ‘the Heart of Midlothian’, where she was imprisoned (not at that period a very retentive prison).

1917 C. A. Seltzer Vengeance of Jefferson Gawne vii. 78 Jane's hair..fell in great, brown, crinkly waves over her shoulders and down her back, without a single retentive ornament.

1996 B. Haveland tr. P. Høeg Woman & Ape (1997) ii. xiv. 126 The hands and feet have the retentive grip found in humans.

a. Of the mind or memory: having the capacity to retain efficiently what is learnt or experienced.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > [adjective]

fasta1398

retentivec1425

tenacious1640

strong1738

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 123 (MED) So febled was his celle retentif And fordirked his ymaginatif, That lost were bothe memorie and resoun.

c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 125 (MED) Eyn stondyng alluey with moystur..sygnyffye a gode wyt and a retentyff.

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iv. viii. 183 The memorye of the peple is not retentyf.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xvi. 61 Whan she was gone, inwardly than wrought Upon her beaute my mynde retentyfe.

1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 112 Memorie is the power retentive of the mynde to kepe those thinges whiche by mannes wit are conceived.

1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue iv. 173 Many unlearned men haue better and more retentiue memories, than haue some Schollers.

1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing iv. 39 Those Musical accents which our retentive faculty is preserver of.

1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind iv. 61 Unless a reader has an uncommon and most retentive Memory,..there is scare any Book or Chapter worth reading once that is not worthy of a second Perusal.

1784 T. Tyers in Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 907/1 So retentive was the memory of this man, that he could always recover whatever he lent to that faculty.

1821 W. M. Craig Lect. Drawing i. 57 The student in history, unless possessed of a mind uncommonly retentive [etc.].

1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues III. 363 Those who..have quick and ready and retentive wits, have generally also quick tempers.

1926 S. T. Warner Lolly Willowes iii. 245 His memory was too long, too retentive.

1961 Time (Atlantic ed.) 20 Jan. 17 Her retentive mind vacuums odd details from the newspapers.

2000 H. Simpson Hey Yeah Right (2001) 77 Nicola had an extraordinarily retentive memory, which was invaluable..as she could memorise the seating plan.

b. Of a person: able to recollect a thing or things easily; possessing a good memory.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > [adjective] > having a good memory

memorative1481

retentive1589

revocative1654

recollective1738

1589 W. Warner Albions Eng. (new ed.) v. xxiv. 105 Attentiue to her speech, but more retentiue of her shape.

1620 R. Brathwait Ess. Fiue Senses ii. 7 In matters of profit, the worldly-minded man is attentiue; and in state-deportments the Politician is retentiue.

1758 S. Johnson Idler 15 Apr. 9 The Idler is always inquisitive and seldom retentive.

1820 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1971) V. 132 He is very quick & retentive in his Learning.

1868 E. Edwards Life Sir W. Ralegh I. xxv. 612 Twenty-one years had then passed since those retentive Indians had seen his face.

1915 C. Moore Hist. Michigan 4 2112 He proved an excellent and retentive student.

1977 Music Educators Jrnl. 63 115/1 A discerning and retentive person can learn much of this on the job.

2001 S. Walton You heard it through Grapevine ix. 193 A selective geographical tour of the better-known names in each region..would undoubtedly have given the retentive newcomer a head start in the subject.

4. Inclined to keep hold of one's money or property, rather than to spend it or give it away; frugal, sparing; miserly. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective]

gnedec900

gripplea1000

fastOE

narrow-hearteda1200

narrow?c1225

straitc1290

chinchc1300

nithinga1325

scarcec1330

clama1340

hard1340

scantc1366

sparingc1386

niggardc1400

chinchy?1406

retentivea1450

niggardousa1492

niggish1519

unliberal1533

pinching1548

dry1552

nigh1555

niggardly1560

churlish1566

squeamish1566

niggardish1567

niggard-like1567

holding1569

spare1577

handfast1578

envious1580

close-handed1585

hard-handed1587

curmudgeonly1590

parsimonious?1591

costive1594

hidebound1598

penny-pinching1600

penurious1600

strait-handed1600

club-fisted1601

dry-fisted1604

fast-handed1605

fast-fingered1607

close-fisted1608

near1611

scanting1613

carkingc1620

illiberal1623

clutch-fisteda1634

hideboundeda1640

clutch-fista1643

clunch-fisted1644

unbounteous1645

hard-fisted1646

purse-bound1652

close1654

stingy1659

tenacious1676

scanty1692

sneaking1696

gripe-handed1698

narrow-souled1699

niggardling1704

snippy1727

unindulgent1742

shabby1766

neargoinga1774

cheesemongering1781

split-farthing1787

save-all1788

picked1790

iron-fisted1794

unhandsome1800

scaly1803

nearbegoing1805

tight1805

nippit1808

nipcheese1819

cumin-splitting1822

partan-handed1823

scrimping1823

scrumptious1823

scrimpy1825

meanly1827

skinny1833

pinchfisted1837

mean1840

tight-fisted1843

screwy1844

stinty1849

cheeseparing1857

skinflinty1886

mouly1904

mingy1911

cheapskate1912

picey1937

tight-assed1961

chintzy1964

tightwad1976

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 4504 (MED) Sche is a couetyse excessyf Of othres good; & of hire owne, sche So streit and hard is, and so retentyf, That it profyte may in no degree.

1612 Mr. King tr. Benvenuto Passenger iii. i. 233 The couetous man, that hee may heape vp much, is so retentiue, as hee denies due ayde and assistance to the needie.

1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 130 Never was King more frugal, never King more retentive in his largesses.

1677 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery 9 He had indeed of late been somewhat more retentive then formerly as to his faculty of disposing of Kingdomes.

1780 T. Pownall Memorial to Sovereigns of Europe (ed. 2) 108 Commerce..might have risen by a competition in an active industry, a retentive frugality, and exertions of ingenuity.

1797 J. Gillies tr. Aristotle Ethics & Politics I. 229 It is not easy for a liberal man to be rich, since he is nice in receiving money, not retentive in keeping it.

1873 R. Black tr. F. Guizot Hist. France II. xxvii. 567 The king..is by nature miserly and retentive.

1995 K. McMahon Misers, Shrews, & Polygamists iv. 84 The miser is retentive, against expenditure.

a. Having the property of preserving or keeping hold of something (material or immaterial); tending or inclined to the retention of a substance, quality, attribute, state, etc.water-retentive: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > [adjective] > having quality of retaining

reservative1496

retentive1582

1582 J. Hester tr. L. Fioravanti Compend. Rationall Secretes iii. xxxii. 47 The oyle of Honnie hath a vertue preseruatiue and retentiue of the haire.

1626 R. Bolton Some Gen. Direct. for Comfortable Walking with God (ed. 2) 2 Taking away the retentiue power from the clouds, that they might powre downe immeasurably.

1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 141 More thankful to Nature and retentive of her benefits are they of Fez.

1660 J. Childrey Britannia Baconica 57 Unless that kind of ground be more retentive of stains then others.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 246 Woolen Manufactures are..retentive of Infection.

1780 J. Howard State Prisons Eng. & Wales (ed. 2) 88 Neither the sides nor floors..were wood, that being more retentive of scents or infection than tarras or brick.

1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol ii. 49 Nor was it more retentive of its ancient state, within.

1873 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 2) vii. 296 The verb is most retentive of antiquity.

1906 Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 14 531 The mud, originally so retentive of its form, soon fell into a mush.

1946 PMLA 61 742 Foigny's attitude was less precursive of romanticism than retentive of the renaissance spirit.

1952 Changing Times Sept. 28/2 What you then have is soil that is richer, more porous, easier to work, more retentive of moisture, more resistant to erosion.

1993 D. Emery & A. Robinson Inorg. Geochem. v. 116/1 Gas aliquots released at higher temperatures from more retentive sites tend towards a constant plateau age.

2007 A. L. Cotten in A. L. Cotten & C. D. Acampora Cultural Sites of Crit. Insight i. 24 The land is sacred and significant for Walker: transformative and retentive of the people's history.

b. spec. Of land, soil, or compost: that tends to hold water.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > liquid > moisture or humidity > [adjective] > moisture-retaining

retentive1744

humectant1953

1744 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons (new ed.) 166 I see the Sands, The pebbly Gravel next, the Layers then Of mingled Moulds, of more retentive Earths.

1801 Farmer's Mag. Apr. 125 Land of a strong retentive nature..will not plough to any purpose when perfectly dry.

1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm I. 485 The water supplied from rain or snow is interrupted in its progress by the retentive beds.

1881 Jrnl. Hort., Cottage Gardener & Home Farmer 19 May 393/2 They [sc. adonises] decidedly prefer a light, rich, and retentive compost.

1903 C. G. Elliott Pract. Farm Drainage iv. 52 Suppose that the drains are placed at this distance in a very retentive soil, as is one which is largely composed of clay.

2001 N. Brown Hist. & Climate Change ii. ix. 238 Through the drying eleventh century, English husbandmen choosing arable sites had eschewed sandy soils in favour of more retentive clays.

6. Restrictive of oneself in expressing something; restrained in speech or behaviour; reticent; reserved. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective]

unspeakinga1382

speechless1390

mutec1400

dumb1406

silenta1425

peaceablec1425

secretc1440

of few wordsa1500

tongue-tied1529

mum1532

closec1540

strait-laced1546

tongue-dumb1556

incommunicable1568

sparing1568

inconversable1577

retentive1599

wordless1604

mumbudget1622

uncommunicable1628

monastica1631

word-bound1644

on (also upon) the reserve1655

strait-mouthed1664

oyster-like1665

incommunicative1670

mumchance1681

speechless1726

taciturnous1727

tongue-tacked1727

monosyllabic1735

silentish1737

untalkative1739

silentious1749

buttoned-up1767

taciturn1771

close as wax1772

untittletattling1779

reticent1825

voiceless1827

say-nothing1838

unremonstrant1841

still1855

unvocal1858

inexpansive186.

short-tongued1864

non-communicating1865

tight-lipped1876

unworded1886

chup1896

tongue-bound1906

shut-mouthed1936

zip-lipped1943

shtum1958

the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > caution > [adjective]

warelyOE

warec1000

adviseda1325

averty1330

aware1340

ferdfula1382

well-advisedc1405

circumspect1430

hooly1513

fearful1526

curiousa1533

chary1542

wareful1548

cautelous1574

cauty1579

careful1580

wary1580

retentive1599

wary1599

ginger1600

circumstant1603

cautel1606

shya1616

cautionate1616

warisome1628

cautiousa1640

circumspectious1649

circumspectivea1674

gingerish1764

safe1874

pussy-footed1893

pussyfooting1926

risk-averse1961

risk-adverse1969

society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > [adjective] > restrained

bridled1567

retent1568

restrained1578

controlled1581

snubbed1583

retained1592

retentive1599

curbed1600

repressed1606

stifleda1643

suspense1667

light1740

reined-in1740

checked1793

reined-up1835

reticent1877

snaffled1877

directed1891

1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered Concl. 46 So shall you be..retentiue of your slaunders, and lesse selfe-boasting of your great sufficiencies.

1603 P. Holland tr. J. Amyot in tr. Plutarch Morals 1352 If then there be any place in the consideration of the secrets of God, where we ought to be retentive, warie and discret, it is in this.

1622 J. Reynolds tr. E. de Refuge Treat. Court i. xxviii. 135 With our Domesticke and Confidents, we must be free; with strangers distrustfull, and more retired and retentiue.

1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. 513 These harts formerly vnited, were now vpon breach, which notwithstanding neuer outwardly appeared, so retentiue they were on both sides.

1770 W. Guthrie New Geogr. Gram. 118 He is..shy and retentive in his communications even to disgust.

1829 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. 2nd Ser. I. xv. 477 The same circumspection..makes them..retentive of what could give offence: they are also timid in regard to fortune and favour.

1897 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times V. iv. 65 If we wanted to have a statesman always..cautious, retentive, and self-controlled, we might have many excellent Ministers, but we certainly could not have Mr. Gladstone.

1905 M. Reid Gwen Wynn xiv. 108 She, too, is cautiously retentive, and refrains taking advantage of his words.

†7. Cohesive; hard to separate. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > state of being thick enough to retain form > [adjective] > cohesive

claggy1570

retentive1721

cohesive1727

rich1837

1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 4 The Soap and Sand will be more retentive, and will not separate without some difficulty.

8. Originally Psychoanalysis. Anal retentive. Cf. anal retentive adj. and n. at anal adj. and n. Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > morbidly preoccupied > obsessive or compulsive

compulsive1902

anal1918

obsessive–compulsive1927

anal retentive1936

retentive1957

anally retentive1968

1957 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 311 152/2 The lack of anal-reactive (retentive) traits (with the presence of so-called ‘oral’ traits).

1968 C. Neuringer in A. I. Rabin Projective Techniques in Personality Assessm. viii. 242 The expulsive subjects could recall more disturbing material than the retentives. On the other hand the retentive subjects remembered more insignificant material than the other subjects.

1977 S. Fisher & R. P. Greenberg Sci. Credibility Freud's Theories & Therapy (1985) iii. 160 Campos (1966) measured retentive personality traits (by means of a questionnaire) in 100 male college students and also had them estimate how long it took them to complete the questionnaire.

2005 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 30 Dec. c1 Collections are fetishistic and anal, and completists are the most retentive of the lot.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	retentive
释义	retentiven. Brit. /rᵻˈtɛntɪv/, U.S. /rəˈtɛn(t)ɪv/, /riˈtɛn(t)ɪv/ Forms: Middle English rentive (transmission error), Middle English retentif, Middle English retentiff, Middle English retentyf, Middle English–1500s retentyve, 1500s retentyue, 1500s–1600s retentiue, 1600s– retentive; also Scottish pre-1700 retentywe. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: retentive adj.¹ Etymology: < retentive adj.¹ In sense 2 perhaps after either Middle French, French †retentive memory, faculty of apprehending and retaining things with the mind (c1400) or Italian ritentiva, †retentiva memory (1319). Compare also French †retentive capacity to retain nourishment, moderation (both 1611 in Cotgrave). Compare retention n. †1. The capacity to retain nourishment; cf. retention n. 1b, retentive adj.¹ 1. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > secretory organs > action or process of secreting > [noun] > resorption, retention, or recruitment retentivea1398 retention?a1425 resorption1714 recruitment1948 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 23 Þe vertu of appetite worchiþ with hote and drye..& þe retentif with colde & drye [L. et ideo siuet vis appetitiua operatur cum calido et sicco..et retentiua cum frigido et sicco]. ?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Cci The sayd vegetable hath in her foure vertues, by the whiche she subsiste and groweth that is to saye, the atractyue; or appetityue, the retentyue the digestyue, and expulsiue. 1651 P. Armin tr. F. Glisson et al. Treat. Rickets xii. 107 The Attractive is somwhat more slow than ought to be; the Retentive, by reason of the internal lubricity is somwhat weaker. †2. The power or faculty of retaining in the mind what is learnt or experienced; recollection, memory; cf. retention n. 2a. In later use (in plural): the retentive faculties; cf. perceptive n. 2, reflective n. 2. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > [noun] retention?a1425 retentive?a1439 a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iii. 3299 (MED) His witt enclyned to manyfold sciences, Hadde off kunnyng a passyng retentiff. c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 3735 (MED) Al that she taught him for his prowe Was voyde out of hys retentyf. 1453–4 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Mar. 1453 §30. m. 19 Besekyng the seid lieutenaunt and lordes, to call to theire good retentyve and wyse remembraunce, the grauntes that were made by theym to the kyng. c1480 (a1400) St. Ninian 42 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 305 In his hart [he] wele held It—sic retentywe he had of wit. 1562 W. Fulwood tr. G. Gratarolus Castel of Mem. ii. sig. B.vi Moistnes is contrary to the retentyue, the whiche is comforted with a proportioned drines. 1594 L. Lewkenor tr. O. de la Marche Resolued Gentleman f. 25 Yf your wittes be not able to comprehende them, nor no wysedome, learning, or retentiue, able to register them, then rest assured, that the force of your aduersaries are mightie. 1852 A. J. Davis Great Harmonia III. xxi. 290 The perceptives, the retentives, the reflectives,..and the religious faculties are—one and all—in a high state of exaltation. 1899 J. E. Sherrill New Normal Question Bk. (rev. ed.) 487 The reflectives are those faculties by the workings of which one is able to compare and contrast things which have come through the perceptives and retentives. 3. Chiefly Medicine. A medicine or other substance that aids the retention of something within the body. Also: a substance or device that holds something in place. Now rare or disused. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > equipment to retain parts in place retentive1481 retinaculum1634 remora1674 retractor1758 adjustera1884 pack1916 1481 tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) sig. e6 To knowe the conuenyent dayes and tymes of mynistring of medicines, as laxatyues, dygestiues, expulsifs, and retentifs. 1597 P. Lowe Whole Course Chirurg. vi. sig. T2 If the wounde be great..we vse a suture, with pouders incarnatiue or retentiues. 1719 R. Samber tr. H. Boerhaave Method of studying Physick 298 Diatecice is now used to signify the whole Regimen of a sick Person, as to Meat, Drink, Sleep, Retentives, Motion, Rest, etc. 1744 tr. H. D. Gaubius Lect. Pharmacy 332 Emplasters of the two last degrees of consistence are used mostly for desiccatives, astringents and retentives, etc. a1786 J. O. Justamond Surg. Tracts (1789) ii. 111 Greasy and unctuous compositions generally increase the evil, and should only be used as retentives to other dressings. 1861 Trans. N.Y. State Agric. Soc. 1860 20 640 Is not the best time to apply retentives when the circulating elements (air and water) are most thoroughly impregnated with organic matter from decaying animal and vegetable substances? 1894 Med. & Surg. Reporter 71 640 The bones should be so divided and brought together in such a manner as will insure the greatest future usefulness of the limb. The retentives should be strong enough and so applied as to hold the parts in a fixed juxtaposition. 1910 A. Haig & K. G. Haig Uric Acid in Clinic iv. 271 The trouble was a gouty gastritis increased by retentives and cold. †4. The capacity of an object to hold something within itself; cf. retention n. 1c. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > [noun] holding?c1225 keepingc1400 retainment1449 retainer1453 retain1455 retainingc1460 retainder1467 retinue1489 retentivea1500 retention1540 reservation1607 retainal1754 reserval1829 a1500 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Ashm.) f. 60^v Water vnto erthe hathe ȝyffe ingression..And bothe water & erthe hathe purchasyd retentyve [a1550 Bodl. e Mus. rentive]. †5. A restraining force; a means of restraint or prevention. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > [noun] > means of restraint or restraining force bridleeOE bridea1425 restraint1523 aweband1531 bit1546 retentive1580 control1594 curb1613 hank1613 constriction1650 retinue1651 check1661 spigot1780 brake1875 way-chain1884 tab1889 inhibitor1902 check-cord1908 iron maiden1912 inhibition1932 1580 W. Fulke Retentiue 53 The olde fathers were S. Augustines motiue, euen none otherwise, then they are our retentiue, to staye vs in Christian truthe. 1611 Bp. J. Hall Epist. III. vi. iii. 26 Fear is a retentiue as necessary, not so ingenuous. a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) 785 Then upon this double charge, followeth a double reason; two retentives (as it were) against the first motion. 1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Deut. i. 17) 78 Cato seeth you, was an ancient watchword among the Romans, and a great retentive from evil. †6. In plural. The organs that retain excreta; the bladder and the rectum. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > secretory organs > organ receiving secretion > [noun] receptaclea1398 receptory?a1425 receptaculum1667 retentives1678 1678 T. Jones Of Heart & Soveraign §xv. 499 A Weather-Cock in the English, or the retentives of a Suckling, in the Brittish Proverb, cannot be more uncertain, and unsteddy. 1694 Abstersæ Lacrymæ 9 It gave my Heart so sad a break, I vow it made me spring a Leak... In spight of all my best Preventives, I swear I've lost my whole Retentives. 1717 D. Defoe Mem. Church of Scotl. i. 60 The Fright and Terror his Mother was in..so far influenc'd the Child in her Womb, that his Retentives generally fail'd him at the Sight of Weapons ever after. 7. Originally Psychoanalysis. An anal retentive person. Cf. anal retentive adj. and n. (b) at anal adj. and n. Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > neurosis > person neurotic1835 retentive1968 1968 C. Neuringer in A. I. Rabin Projective Techniques in Personality Assessm. viii. 242 They [sc. F. Pedersen and D. Marlowe] reported that the expulsive subjects could recall more disturbing material than the retentives. 1977 S. Fisher & R. P. Greenberg Sci. Credibility Freud's Theories & Therapy iii. 152 There were suggestions that the expulsives had more difficulty than the retentives in learning the hostile as compared to neutral words. 1986 Telegraph (Melbourne) (Nexis) 20 Aug. It is self-glorifying retentives like you who are keeping Australia the Ozanam House of Western Art. 2005 R. Wood Pushing Envelopes 14 The retentives among them wouldn't have enjoyed his crack. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022). retentiveadj.¹ Brit. /rᵻˈtɛntɪv/, U.S. /rəˈtɛn(t)ɪv/, /riˈtɛn(t)ɪv/ Forms: Middle English recentyue (transmission error), Middle English retentatyf (transmission error), Middle English retentif, Middle English retentyf, Middle English retentyff, Middle English–1500s retentyfe, Middle English–1500s retentyue, 1500s retentife, 1500s–1600s retentiue, 1500s– retentive; also Scottish pre-1700 retentywe. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French retentif; Latin retentivus. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French retentif (French rétentif , retentif , now rare) designating the ability to retain (earliest in vertu retentive , 13th cent. in Old French), and its etymon (ii) post-classical Latin retentivus capable of retaining (from c1200 in British sources, esp. in medical context and with reference to the mind or the soul; 15th cent. in continental sources), that serves to hold something in the proper place (1363 in Chauliac) < classical Latin retent- , past participial stem of retinēre retain v. + -īvus -ive suffix. Compare Catalan retentiu (14th cent.), Spanish retentivo (c1428 in vertud retentiva ), Portuguese retentivo (15th cent.), Italian ritentivo , †retentivo (a1294). Compare retention n., retain v. 1. Medicine. Designating the ability to retain, or function of retaining, the contents of an organ, esp. the bladder or rectum; possessing this ability. In early use also: †designating the ability to retain nourishment within the body (obsolete). Also figurative and in figurative context.In early use frequently as postmodifier, in †virtue retentive. ΚΠ a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. xxiv. 922 Þey [sc. the apples of the cypress] helpeþ aȝeins þe flux of þe wombe þat comeþ of defaute of þe vertu retentyf [L. retentiue]. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Ellesmere) (1877) §913 Polucion..comth..Somtyme of infermetee, for the fieblesse of the vertu retentif. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 37^v (MED) By þe longitudinel is maad parfiȝt þe attractif vertu, And by þe latitudynel þe expulsif vertu, And by þe transuersel þe retentif vertu. 1547 R. Record Vrinal of Physick f. 38 This vryne..is the worst of any other of lyke sorte..for it declareth the decay..of two naturall powres, that is the retentyue power, & the alteratyue power also. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xxii. 43 It keepeth Sermons in memorie, and doth in that respect..help the retentiue force of that stomack of the minde. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. Catal. Words Art Retentiue facultie, the naturall power that ech part or member of the body hath to hold that which is committed unto it, the due time. 1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia Isagoge sig. C6^v The fat, hinders appetite..& decayeth the retentive powers. 1683 W. Cave Ecclesiastici Introd. p. lxiii The old doting Nile had lost his retentive faculty, and could no longer hold his Water. 1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 72 Then also the Retentive and Digestive Faculties do cease from their natural Operations. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Faculty Others subdivide the Vegetative Faculty into Attractive, Retentive, Concoctive, and Expulsive. 1792 Monthly Rev. June 143 The complaint, also, may be further distinguished from the stone..by more frequently injuring the retentive power of the bladder. 1827 Lancet 1 Dec. 330/2 During a mismanaged labour, the sphincter ani is sometimes torn, the retentive power of the gut being lost. 1884 Med. Rec. (N.Y.) 20 Sept. 309/2 The form and direction of the rectum,..and its peculiar muscular equipment as a receptive, retentive, and expulsive organ, display a most admirable provision of nature. 1905 Jrnl. Anat. & Physiol. 40 201 This would show that after suprapubic prostatectomy the striped sphincter takes on..the major part of the retentive function. 1966 Lancet 23 Apr. 895/1 Residual urine represents a balance between the propulsive force of the detrusor muscle of the bladder and the retentive power of the sphincter. 1998 T. M. Shaw Burden of Flesh ii. 75 Thus, womb and stomach are linked by their locations in the ‘belly’..and their similar retentive functions. 2. a. Medicine. That serves to hold something (the edges of a wound, a part of the body, a dressing, etc.) in the proper place. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [adjective] > retaining parts in place retentive?a1425 translative1567 ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 54 (MED) Þer is 3 maner ligaturez: Incarnatyue, Expulsiue, & Retentyue [L. retentiva]. 1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. ix. ii. f. 45/1 That ligament, which..cureth, throughe his continuance of the remedyes, which are applyed vnto the dissease, wherfore we may call it the retentive Ligament. 1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. ix. v. 325 The Retentive Ligature is fit for such parts as cannot suffer straight binding. 1767 B. Gooch Pract. Treat. Wounds I. 205 To alter the bandage, making it only retentive. 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. IV. 347 Many forms of special retentive apparatus [for movable kidney] have been devised. 1913 Lancet 6 Dec. 1616/2 An important part of orthopædic work related to curative, retentive, and supporting appliances. 1926 Amer. Jrnl. Surg. 1 39/1 The retentive bandage should be used with unusual care [in the aged]. 2009 Jrnl. Oral & Maxillofacial Surg. 67 382/2 Retentive prosthetic attachments were mounted on the fixtures. b. Constraining, confining; serving or having the capacity to hold firmly and securely.In early use esp. of a prison. ΘΚΠ society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > [adjective] retentivea1616 a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. iii. 94 Nor ayre-lesse Dungeon, nor strong Linkes of Iron, Can be retentiue to the strength of spirit. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. iv. 82 Are my dores oppos'd against my passage?..must my house Be my retentiue Enemy? My Gaole? 1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iv. 567 Yet still retentive, with redoubled might Thro' each vain passive form [do thou] constrain his flight. 1790 Sunday 20 From bloody whipping post, retentive jail, And gibbet dire, full many a youth to save. 1848 Rural Amusem. vi. 177 Nor could the Trout, with all his struggles, relieve himself from the retentive hold and voracity of the tyrant [sc. a pike]. 1889 Notes & Queries 20 Apr. 314/1 She escaped from ‘the Heart of Midlothian’, where she was imprisoned (not at that period a very retentive prison). 1917 C. A. Seltzer Vengeance of Jefferson Gawne vii. 78 Jane's hair..fell in great, brown, crinkly waves over her shoulders and down her back, without a single retentive ornament. 1996 B. Haveland tr. P. Høeg Woman & Ape (1997) ii. xiv. 126 The hands and feet have the retentive grip found in humans. 3. a. Of the mind or memory: having the capacity to retain efficiently what is learnt or experienced. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > [adjective] fasta1398 retentivec1425 tenacious1640 strong1738 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 123 (MED) So febled was his celle retentif And fordirked his ymaginatif, That lost were bothe memorie and resoun. c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 125 (MED) Eyn stondyng alluey with moystur..sygnyffye a gode wyt and a retentyff. 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iv. viii. 183 The memorye of the peple is not retentyf. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xvi. 61 Whan she was gone, inwardly than wrought Upon her beaute my mynde retentyfe. 1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 112 Memorie is the power retentive of the mynde to kepe those thinges whiche by mannes wit are conceived. 1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue iv. 173 Many unlearned men haue better and more retentiue memories, than haue some Schollers. 1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing iv. 39 Those Musical accents which our retentive faculty is preserver of. 1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind iv. 61 Unless a reader has an uncommon and most retentive Memory,..there is scare any Book or Chapter worth reading once that is not worthy of a second Perusal. 1784 T. Tyers in Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 907/1 So retentive was the memory of this man, that he could always recover whatever he lent to that faculty. 1821 W. M. Craig Lect. Drawing i. 57 The student in history, unless possessed of a mind uncommonly retentive [etc.]. 1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues III. 363 Those who..have quick and ready and retentive wits, have generally also quick tempers. 1926 S. T. Warner Lolly Willowes iii. 245 His memory was too long, too retentive. 1961 Time (Atlantic ed.) 20 Jan. 17 Her retentive mind vacuums odd details from the newspapers. 2000 H. Simpson Hey Yeah Right (2001) 77 Nicola had an extraordinarily retentive memory, which was invaluable..as she could memorise the seating plan. b. Of a person: able to recollect a thing or things easily; possessing a good memory. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > memory > retention in the mind > [adjective] > having a good memory memorative1481 retentive1589 revocative1654 recollective1738 1589 W. Warner Albions Eng. (new ed.) v. xxiv. 105 Attentiue to her speech, but more retentiue of her shape. 1620 R. Brathwait Ess. Fiue Senses ii. 7 In matters of profit, the worldly-minded man is attentiue; and in state-deportments the Politician is retentiue. 1758 S. Johnson Idler 15 Apr. 9 The Idler is always inquisitive and seldom retentive. 1820 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1971) V. 132 He is very quick & retentive in his Learning. 1868 E. Edwards Life Sir W. Ralegh I. xxv. 612 Twenty-one years had then passed since those retentive Indians had seen his face. 1915 C. Moore Hist. Michigan 4 2112 He proved an excellent and retentive student. 1977 Music Educators Jrnl. 63 115/1 A discerning and retentive person can learn much of this on the job. 2001 S. Walton You heard it through Grapevine ix. 193 A selective geographical tour of the better-known names in each region..would undoubtedly have given the retentive newcomer a head start in the subject. 4. Inclined to keep hold of one's money or property, rather than to spend it or give it away; frugal, sparing; miserly. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] gnedec900 gripplea1000 fastOE narrow-hearteda1200 narrow?c1225 straitc1290 chinchc1300 nithinga1325 scarcec1330 clama1340 hard1340 scantc1366 sparingc1386 niggardc1400 chinchy?1406 retentivea1450 niggardousa1492 niggish1519 unliberal1533 pinching1548 dry1552 nigh1555 niggardly1560 churlish1566 squeamish1566 niggardish1567 niggard-like1567 holding1569 spare1577 handfast1578 envious1580 close-handed1585 hard-handed1587 curmudgeonly1590 parsimonious?1591 costive1594 hidebound1598 penny-pinching1600 penurious1600 strait-handed1600 club-fisted1601 dry-fisted1604 fast-handed1605 fast-fingered1607 close-fisted1608 near1611 scanting1613 carkingc1620 illiberal1623 clutch-fisteda1634 hideboundeda1640 clutch-fista1643 clunch-fisted1644 unbounteous1645 hard-fisted1646 purse-bound1652 close1654 stingy1659 tenacious1676 scanty1692 sneaking1696 gripe-handed1698 narrow-souled1699 niggardling1704 snippy1727 unindulgent1742 shabby1766 neargoinga1774 cheesemongering1781 split-farthing1787 save-all1788 picked1790 iron-fisted1794 unhandsome1800 scaly1803 nearbegoing1805 tight1805 nippit1808 nipcheese1819 cumin-splitting1822 partan-handed1823 scrimping1823 scrumptious1823 scrimpy1825 meanly1827 skinny1833 pinchfisted1837 mean1840 tight-fisted1843 screwy1844 stinty1849 cheeseparing1857 skinflinty1886 mouly1904 mingy1911 cheapskate1912 picey1937 tight-assed1961 chintzy1964 tightwad1976 a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 4504 (MED) Sche is a couetyse excessyf Of othres good; & of hire owne, sche So streit and hard is, and so retentyf, That it profyte may in no degree. 1612 Mr. King tr. Benvenuto Passenger iii. i. 233 The couetous man, that hee may heape vp much, is so retentiue, as hee denies due ayde and assistance to the needie. 1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 130 Never was King more frugal, never King more retentive in his largesses. 1677 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery 9 He had indeed of late been somewhat more retentive then formerly as to his faculty of disposing of Kingdomes. 1780 T. Pownall Memorial to Sovereigns of Europe (ed. 2) 108 Commerce..might have risen by a competition in an active industry, a retentive frugality, and exertions of ingenuity. 1797 J. Gillies tr. Aristotle Ethics & Politics I. 229 It is not easy for a liberal man to be rich, since he is nice in receiving money, not retentive in keeping it. 1873 R. Black tr. F. Guizot Hist. France II. xxvii. 567 The king..is by nature miserly and retentive. 1995 K. McMahon Misers, Shrews, & Polygamists iv. 84 The miser is retentive, against expenditure. 5. a. Having the property of preserving or keeping hold of something (material or immaterial); tending or inclined to the retention of a substance, quality, attribute, state, etc.water-retentive: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > [adjective] > having quality of retaining reservative1496 retentive1582 1582 J. Hester tr. L. Fioravanti Compend. Rationall Secretes iii. xxxii. 47 The oyle of Honnie hath a vertue preseruatiue and retentiue of the haire. 1626 R. Bolton Some Gen. Direct. for Comfortable Walking with God (ed. 2) 2 Taking away the retentiue power from the clouds, that they might powre downe immeasurably. 1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 141 More thankful to Nature and retentive of her benefits are they of Fez. 1660 J. Childrey Britannia Baconica 57 Unless that kind of ground be more retentive of stains then others. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 246 Woolen Manufactures are..retentive of Infection. 1780 J. Howard State Prisons Eng. & Wales (ed. 2) 88 Neither the sides nor floors..were wood, that being more retentive of scents or infection than tarras or brick. 1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol ii. 49 Nor was it more retentive of its ancient state, within. 1873 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 2) vii. 296 The verb is most retentive of antiquity. 1906 Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 14 531 The mud, originally so retentive of its form, soon fell into a mush. 1946 PMLA 61 742 Foigny's attitude was less precursive of romanticism than retentive of the renaissance spirit. 1952 Changing Times Sept. 28/2 What you then have is soil that is richer, more porous, easier to work, more retentive of moisture, more resistant to erosion. 1993 D. Emery & A. Robinson Inorg. Geochem. v. 116/1 Gas aliquots released at higher temperatures from more retentive sites tend towards a constant plateau age. 2007 A. L. Cotten in A. L. Cotten & C. D. Acampora Cultural Sites of Crit. Insight i. 24 The land is sacred and significant for Walker: transformative and retentive of the people's history. b. spec. Of land, soil, or compost: that tends to hold water. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > liquid > moisture or humidity > [adjective] > moisture-retaining retentive1744 humectant1953 1744 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons (new ed.) 166 I see the Sands, The pebbly Gravel next, the Layers then Of mingled Moulds, of more retentive Earths. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Apr. 125 Land of a strong retentive nature..will not plough to any purpose when perfectly dry. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm I. 485 The water supplied from rain or snow is interrupted in its progress by the retentive beds. 1881 Jrnl. Hort., Cottage Gardener & Home Farmer 19 May 393/2 They [sc. adonises] decidedly prefer a light, rich, and retentive compost. 1903 C. G. Elliott Pract. Farm Drainage iv. 52 Suppose that the drains are placed at this distance in a very retentive soil, as is one which is largely composed of clay. 2001 N. Brown Hist. & Climate Change ii. ix. 238 Through the drying eleventh century, English husbandmen choosing arable sites had eschewed sandy soils in favour of more retentive clays. 6. Restrictive of oneself in expressing something; restrained in speech or behaviour; reticent; reserved. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] unspeakinga1382 speechless1390 mutec1400 dumb1406 silenta1425 peaceablec1425 secretc1440 of few wordsa1500 tongue-tied1529 mum1532 closec1540 strait-laced1546 tongue-dumb1556 incommunicable1568 sparing1568 inconversable1577 retentive1599 wordless1604 mumbudget1622 uncommunicable1628 monastica1631 word-bound1644 on (also upon) the reserve1655 strait-mouthed1664 oyster-like1665 incommunicative1670 mumchance1681 speechless1726 taciturnous1727 tongue-tacked1727 monosyllabic1735 silentish1737 untalkative1739 silentious1749 buttoned-up1767 taciturn1771 close as wax1772 untittletattling1779 reticent1825 voiceless1827 say-nothing1838 unremonstrant1841 still1855 unvocal1858 inexpansive186. short-tongued1864 non-communicating1865 tight-lipped1876 unworded1886 chup1896 tongue-bound1906 shut-mouthed1936 zip-lipped1943 shtum1958 the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > caution > [adjective] warelyOE warec1000 adviseda1325 averty1330 aware1340 ferdfula1382 well-advisedc1405 circumspect1430 hooly1513 fearful1526 curiousa1533 chary1542 wareful1548 cautelous1574 cauty1579 careful1580 wary1580 retentive1599 wary1599 ginger1600 circumstant1603 cautel1606 shya1616 cautionate1616 warisome1628 cautiousa1640 circumspectious1649 circumspectivea1674 gingerish1764 safe1874 pussy-footed1893 pussyfooting1926 risk-averse1961 risk-adverse1969 society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > [adjective] > restrained bridled1567 retent1568 restrained1578 controlled1581 snubbed1583 retained1592 retentive1599 curbed1600 repressed1606 stifleda1643 suspense1667 light1740 reined-in1740 checked1793 reined-up1835 reticent1877 snaffled1877 directed1891 1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered Concl. 46 So shall you be..retentiue of your slaunders, and lesse selfe-boasting of your great sufficiencies. 1603 P. Holland tr. J. Amyot in tr. Plutarch Morals 1352 If then there be any place in the consideration of the secrets of God, where we ought to be retentive, warie and discret, it is in this. 1622 J. Reynolds tr. E. de Refuge Treat. Court i. xxviii. 135 With our Domesticke and Confidents, we must be free; with strangers distrustfull, and more retired and retentiue. 1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. 513 These harts formerly vnited, were now vpon breach, which notwithstanding neuer outwardly appeared, so retentiue they were on both sides. 1770 W. Guthrie New Geogr. Gram. 118 He is..shy and retentive in his communications even to disgust. 1829 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. 2nd Ser. I. xv. 477 The same circumspection..makes them..retentive of what could give offence: they are also timid in regard to fortune and favour. 1897 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times V. iv. 65 If we wanted to have a statesman always..cautious, retentive, and self-controlled, we might have many excellent Ministers, but we certainly could not have Mr. Gladstone. 1905 M. Reid Gwen Wynn xiv. 108 She, too, is cautiously retentive, and refrains taking advantage of his words. †7. Cohesive; hard to separate. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > state of being thick enough to retain form > [adjective] > cohesive claggy1570 retentive1721 cohesive1727 rich1837 1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 4 The Soap and Sand will be more retentive, and will not separate without some difficulty. 8. Originally Psychoanalysis. Anal retentive. Cf. anal retentive adj. and n. at anal adj. and n. Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > morbidly preoccupied > obsessive or compulsive compulsive1902 anal1918 obsessive–compulsive1927 anal retentive1936 retentive1957 anally retentive1968 1957 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 311 152/2 The lack of anal-reactive (retentive) traits (with the presence of so-called ‘oral’ traits). 1968 C. Neuringer in A. I. Rabin Projective Techniques in Personality Assessm. viii. 242 The expulsive subjects could recall more disturbing material than the retentives. On the other hand the retentive subjects remembered more insignificant material than the other subjects. 1977 S. Fisher & R. P. Greenberg Sci. Credibility Freud's Theories & Therapy (1985) iii. 160 Campos (1966) measured retentive personality traits (by means of a questionnaire) in 100 male college students and also had them estimate how long it took them to complete the questionnaire. 2005 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 30 Dec. c1 Collections are fetishistic and anal, and completists are the most retentive of the lot. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † retentiveadj.² Origin: Of multiple origins. Apparently either (i) formed within English, by derivation. Or (ii) a borrowing from French, combined with an English element. Etymons: retent v., -ive suffix; French retentir , -ive suffix. Etymology: Apparently < either retent v. or its etymon French retentir + -ive suffix. Obsolete. rare (poetic). That reverberates or resounds. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adjective] loudc897 shillOE brightOE shillinga1225 soundingc1374 ringingc1400 sonore?c1400 resoundingc1425 sonousc1429 resoundable?c1500 soundish1530 high-sounding1560 singing1565 resonant1572 trolling1581 rumbelow1582 sonorous1611 canorous1646 remugient1660 retentive1728 fullish1770 pealing1794 resonating1845 plangent1858 resonatory1880 timbrous1929 1728 A. Pope Dunciad ii. 239 Long Chanc'ry-lane retentive rolls the sound, And courts to courts return it round and round. 1729 R. Savage Wanderer iv. 123 Tho' one bad Age such Poësy cou'd wrong, Now Worlds around retentive roll the Song. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.a1398adj.¹a1398adj.²1728
随便看	self-diagnosed self-diagnosis self-differentiate self-differentiated self-differentiates self-differentiating self-differentiation self-differentiations self-diffidence self-diffident self-diffiding self-diffusion self-directed self-directing self-direction self-disapproval self-discharge self-discipline self-disciplined self-disclosure self-discovery self-disengaging self-disgust self-dislike self-display

retentiven.

retentiveadj.1

† retentiveadj.2

retentiveadj.¹

† retentiveadj.²