Hypertext Webster Gateway: "retainer"

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.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

retainer
n 1: a fee charged in advance to retain the services of someone
[syn: {consideration}]
2: a person working in the service of another (especially in
the household) [syn: {servant}]
3: a dental appliance that holds teeth (or a prosthesis) in
position after orthodontic treatment

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