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detention (n.)

mid-15c., detencioun, "act of keeping back or withholding," from Old French détention (13c.) and directly from Late Latin detentionem (nominative detentio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin detinere "hold back, keep off" (see detain).

Sense of "confinement, restraint, state of being detained" is by 1570s (in reference to Mary Queen of Scots). In reference to "a keeping in" as a school punishment, from 1857.

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Definitions of detention from WordNet

detention (n.)
a state of being confined (usually for a short time);
his detention was politically motivated
Synonyms: detainment / hold / custody
detention (n.)
a punishment in which a student must stay at school after others have gone home;
the detention of tardy pupils
From wordnet.princeton.edu