6. (Law) The right of withholding a debt, or of retaining property
until a debt due to the person claiming the right be duly paid; a lien.
Erskine. Craig.
Retention cyst (Med.), a cyst produced by obstruction of a duct leading
from a secreting organ and the consequent retention of the natural
secretions.
Re*ten"tive (?), a. [Cf. F. rétentif.] Having power to retain; as, a
retentive memory.
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to
the strength of spirit.
Shak.
Re*ten"tive, n. That which retains or confines; a restraint. [R.] Bp.
Hall.
Re*ten"tive*ly, adv. In a retentive manner.
Re*ten"tive*ness, n. The quality of being retentive.
Re`ten*tiv"i*ty (?), n. The power of retaining; retentive force; as,
the retentivity of a magnet.
||Re*ten"tor (?), n. [L., a retainer.] (Zoöl.) A muscle which serves to
||retain an organ or part in place, esp. when retracted. See Illust. of
||Phylactolemata.
Re`te*pore (?), n. [L. rete a net + porus pore.] (Zoöl.) Any one of
several species of bryozoans of the genus Retepora. They form delicate
calcareous corals, usually composed of thin fenestrated fronds.
Re*tex" (?), v. t. [L. retexere, lit., to unweave; pref. re- re +
texere to weave. ] To annual, as orders. [Obs.] Bp. Hacket.
Re*tex"ture (?), n. The act of weaving or forming again. Carlyle.
Reth"or (?), n. [Cf. F. rhéteur. See Rhetor.] A rhetorician; a careful
writer. [Obs.]
If a rethor couthe fair endite.
Chaucer.
Reth"o*ryke (?), n. Rhetoric. [Obs.] Chaucer.
||Re`ti*a"ri*us (?), n. [L., fr. rete a net.] (Rom.Antiq.) A gladiator
||armed with a net for entangling his adversary and a trident for
||despatching him.
Re"ti*a*ry (?), n. [See Retiarius.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any spider which spins
webs to catch its prey.