RETA'INER, n.
1. One who retains; as an executor, who retains a debt due from the testator.
2. One who is kept in service; an attendant; as the retainers of the ancient princes and nobility.
3. An adherent; a dependant; a hanger on.
4. A servant, not a domestic, but occasionally attending and wearing his master's livery.
5. Among lawyers, a fee paid to engage a lawyer or counselor to maintain a cause.
6. The act of keeping dependents, or being in dependence.
