retainer : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: retainer	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for retainer
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
retainer n a fee charged in advance to retain the services of someone Synonym(s): retainer, consideration a person working in the service of another (especially in the household) Synonym(s): servant, retainer a dental appliance that holds teeth (or a prosthesis) in position after orthodontic treatment
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Retainer \Re*tain"er\, n. 1. One who, or that which, retains. 2. One who is retained or kept in service; an attendant; an adherent; a hanger-on. 3. Hence, a servant, not a domestic, but occasionally attending and wearing his master's livery. --Cowell. 4. (Law) (a) The act of a client by which he engages a lawyer or counselor to manage his cause. (b) The act of withholding what one has in his hands by virtue of some right. (c) A fee paid to engage a lawyer or counselor to maintain a cause, or to prevent his being employed by the opposing party in the case; -- called also {retaining fee}. --Bouvier. --Blackstone.