Noun

(en noun)

A dependent or follower of someone of rank.

A paid servant, especially one who has been employed for many years.

Any thing or person that retains.

A fee one pays to reserve the other's time for services.

This lawyer charges a retainer for his work .

(dentistry): A device that holds teeth in position after orthodontic treatment.

Noun

(en noun)

A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=Kevin Heng

, title= Why Does Nature Form Exoplanets Easily? , volume=101, issue=3, page=184, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter.}}

A sycophantic follower.

(obsolete) A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.

* Sylvester

God's disciple and his dearest minion

* William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens , IV-III

Is this the Athenian minion whom the world / Voiced so regardfully?

(obsolete) An ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.

(Beaumont and Fletcher)

(typography, uncountable) A size of type smaller than brevier but larger than nonpareil, roughly equivalent to 7pt.

(Burton)