The term retention finds a remarkably varied set of meanings across literary, scientific, and political texts. In some contexts, it is quite literal—for instance, referring to the precise timing of breath in a controlled breathing technique [1] or the physiological accumulation of fluids in the body [2, 3]. In the realm of psychology and memory studies, retention is central to discussions on how information or impressions are maintained over time, with authors outlining its role as a prerequisite for recall [4, 5, 6, 7]. Meanwhile, in socio-political and administrative narratives, retention denotes the perseverance of policies, traditions, or even territorial control, as seen in debates over keeping particular institutions or land under control [8, 9, 10, 11]. Scientific and technical writings also employ the term to describe the capacity of materials to adsorb or hold substances, such as the retention of heat in a body or moisture in clays [12, 13]. This multifaceted use highlights retention’s broad applicability as a concept linked both to physical holding and metaphorical persistence [14, 15, 16].