retinue

American  

[ret-n-oo, -yoo] / ˈrɛt nˌu, -ˌyu /

noun

1. a body of retainers in attendance upon an important personage; suite.

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retinue British  

/ ˈrɛtɪˌnjuː /

noun

1. a body of aides and retainers attending an important person, royalty, etc

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Other Word Forms

• retinued
  adjective
• unretinued
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of retinue

1325–75; Middle English retinue < Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of retenir to retain

Explanation

A retinue is a group of people that accompany an important person. If you're a king or queen, you can think of a retinue as your royal crew or posse. Retinue shares a root with retain. This fact can help you remember the word. If you hire someone to help you out while you travel, you are retaining their services. When their services are retained, they become part of your retinue. The Secret Service could be thought of as the U.S. President's retinue. Another example: A celebrity's retinue might include a hair dresser, a personal assistant, and a toy poodle.

Example Sentences

This Prince had been for some time in France; and tho' he was incog. by the Name or Title of the Count of Lusatia, he had the Retinue of a King's Son.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume III Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

The French Ambassador offends the King.But to return to the Embassador and his Retinue.

From An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Divers other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous Escape by Knox, Robert

After he has sate a few Moments, he dismisses the Ambassadors and the other Persons of his Retinue, and retires to his Apartment.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Her best-known volumes of verse are: "America the Beautiful", 1911; "Fairy Gold", 1916; and "The Retinue", 1918.

From The Second Book of Modern Verse; a selection from the work of contemporaneous American poets by Rittenhouse, Jessie Belle

I have not heard that any Bishop ever made use of this mighty Prerogative, for the Retinue which those great Officers would bring along with them might be a Charge to him.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Related Words

• entourage