Detains

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To hold a person in custody or prevent them from leaving freely
2. To keep someone confined or restrained temporarily, especially by legal authority
3. To delay or hold back a person, often by official or authoritative action

Etymology: "Detains" is the third-person singular present form of "detain," so the story belongs to the verb itself. "Detain" came into English from Old French "detenir," which combined the prefix "de-," meaning "away" or "down," with "tenir," "to hold." Its basic sense is therefore to hold someone back or keep them from moving on, which is exactly what the modern meaning of custody and restraint still preserves. The verb has a close relative in English that looks like a stranger. "Détente," the word for an easing of hostilities between nations, is a doublet of "detain," meaning the two words descend from the same Old French source but reached English by different routes and took on different meanings. One stayed as a plain verb of holding back, while the other, borrowed later from French, came to describe a relaxing of tension, as if a tightly held spring were allowed to loosen.

Synonyms: holds, keeps, restricts, confines, impedes

Antonyms: releases, frees, liberates, emancipates, discharges