retreat
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English
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. Doublet of retract, retrait, and ritratto.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]retreat (plural retreats)
- The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
- c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- In a retreat he outruns any lackey.
- A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
- 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto:
- " […] But come, Lady, we are too near the mouth of the cavern; let us seek its inmost recesses. […] " "Though all your actions are noble, […] is it fitting that I should accompany you alone into these perplexed retreats? Should we be found together, what would a censorious world think of my conduct?"
- 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter IV, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), pages 40–41:
- In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady, Mrs. Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous bliss; all old inhabitants of the nearer end of Marlott, and frequenters of this retreat.
- 1692, Roger L'Estrange, “Fable 100: An Old Man and a Lion”, in Fables of Aesop, page 115:
- ... he built his son a house of pleasure, on purpose to keep him out of harm's way; and spared neither art nor cost to make it a delicious retreat.
- 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- That pleasing shade they sought, a soft retreat / From sudden April showers, a shelter from the heat.
- (rare and obsolete, euphemistic) A peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
- A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude.
- We both need a week retreat after those two stressful years working in the city.
- A period of meditation, prayer or study.
- (military) A signal for a military withdrawal.
- (military) A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
- 1898, Kate Douglas Wiggin, chapter 8, in Penelope’s Progress […], Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
- to-morrow the Royal Standard will be hoisted at Edinburgh Castle from reveille to retreat.
- (military) A military ceremony to lower the flag.
- (chess) The move of a piece from a threatened position.
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]act of pulling back or withdrawing
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peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security
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period of meditation, prayer, or study
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Verb
[edit]retreat (third-person singular simple present retreats, present participle retreating, simple past and past participle retreated) (intransitive)
- To withdraw from a position, go back.
- To withdraw military forces
- The general refused to order his soldiers to retreat, despite being vastly outnumbered.
- To withdraw military forces
- To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures. (of a glacier)
- To slope back.
- 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 111:
- His face was a fair weakness, his chin retreated, and his hair lay in crisp, almost flaxen curls on his low forehead; his eyes were rather large, pale blue, and blankly staring.
- a retreating forehead
Antonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]retreat — see withdraw
to withdraw military forces
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Etymology 2
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]retreat (third-person singular simple present retreats, present participle retreating, simple past and past participle retreated)
- Alternative spelling of re-treat
Further reading
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Norwegian Bokmål
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from English retreat. Doublet of retrett.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]retreat m (definite singular retreaten, indefinite plural retreater, definite plural retreatene)
- a period of meditation, prayer or study; retreat
- a location for such activities
Usage notes
[edit]- Prior to the 2005 spelling reform, this noun was considered grammatically neuter.
References
[edit]Norwegian Nynorsk
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from English retreat. Doublet of retrett.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]retreat m (definite singular retreaten, indefinite plural retreatar, definite plural retreatane)
- a period of meditation, prayer or study; retreat
- a location for such activities
Usage notes
[edit]- Prior to a revision made alongside the 2005 Bokmål spelling reform, this noun was considered grammatically neuter.
References
[edit]- “retreat” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
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