- retreat (n.)
- c.1300, from Old French retret, noun use of past participle of retrere "draw back," from Latin retrahere "draw back," from re- "back" (see re-) + trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)). Meaning "place of seclusion" is from early 15c.; sense of "establishment for mentally ill persons" is from 1797.
- retreat (v.)
- early 15c., "to draw in, draw back, leave the extremities," from Old French retret, past participle of retrere (see retreat (n.)). Meaning "to fall back from battle" is mid-15c. Related: Retreated; retreating.