detainer
English
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman detener, from Old French detenir. By surface analysis, detain + -er (action noun suffix). First attested in the 17th century.
Noun
detainer (plural detainers)
- (law) The right to keep a person, or a person's goods or property, against his will. A type of custody.
- 2007 August 21, Kareem Fahim, “Presidential Candidate Blames Killings on Newark Sanctuary Policy”, in The New York Times[1], archived from the original on 30 August 2019:
- On Monday, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency placed a similar detainer on Melvin Jovel, 18, who on Sunday was the sixth person to be arrested in the case.
- 2008 March 23, Kareem Fahim, “Immigration Referrals by Police Draw Scrutiny”, in The New York Times[2], archived from the original on 10 February 2018:
- Through January, immigration authorities placed detainers on an additional 1,468 people — giving federal agents the right to hold suspects who are released from jail. […] Scott Weber, the field office director for the enforcement office in Newark, said that in roughly a third of the cases, his agency would file a detainer or immigration charges; another third involved individuals who could be deported after their court cases; and the rest might be United States citizens or legal residents.
- 2008 April 13, Christine Hauser, “U.S. Officials Are Expected to Charge Police Officer”, in The New York Times[3], archived from the original on 6 January 2018:
- Officer Torres’s lawyer, Paul S. Missan, said on Saturday that he had been told by a prison official in Pennsylvania that a detainer was lodged against his client, meaning he was likely to face federal charges.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From detain + -er (agent noun suffix).
Noun
detainer (plural detainers)
- One who detains.
- 1840, Ellen Pickering, Who shall be heir?, volume 1, page 146:
- […] he chatted gaily with his fair detainer, showing no inclination to escape from the bondage in which she sought to retain him.