Translation
to hold back, to restrain; to detain
Word origin
Built inside Esperanto from the prefix de- ('away, off') and teni ('to hold'), which comes from Latin tenere. Latin happens to have made the same word the same way, detinere, so English detain is a parallel build rather than the source.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- tenere
- English cognates
- detain, retain, tenant
Examples
.
A strong hand held the dog back at the door.
.
The police detained the man until the morning.
.
I refrained from the second glass.
is a real affix build, not a borrowing: - plus , hold-away. That gives you the whole range for free. You a dog, a river or a suspect, and with the reflexive you get the sense English needs a different verb for: sin something is to refrain from it. Note that the person doing the holding is the subject, so and never the other way round.
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deteni: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "deteni" (to hold back, to restrain; to detain): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 33.