Overretain

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Keeping hold of something for longer than is necessary or beyond what is sensible
2. Holding onto more of something, or for a longer period, than is wise or required
3. Continuing to keep or store something past the point where it should have been released

Etymology: Over- is a prefix meaning "excessively" or "too much," and "retain" comes from Latin "retinere," meaning "to hold back" or "to keep," formed from "re-" (back) and "tenere" (to hold). "Retain" entered English in the 15th century, first in the sense of keeping someone in service or keeping a thing in one's possession, and it passed through Old French "retenir." Its sibling "retinue," a group of attendants who are kept in tow, came into English by a different route, which shows how closely the two share their Latin root. "Overretain" is a transparent formation: English speakers have long attached "over-" to verbs to mean doing something to excess, as in "overeat" or "overwork." It is a relatively modern and uncommon coinage, used mainly in technical or specialist contexts such as medicine, psychology, or computing, where it describes keeping something (a memory, fluid, or data) for longer or in greater quantity than intended. Because the parts are so plain, the word needs no special story, and its meaning follows directly from the prefix and the root.