A person who is held in custody by authorities, usually temporarily and often without formal charges.
From 'detain' (from Latin 'detinere' meaning 'to hold back') plus the suffix '-ee' (meaning 'one who receives an action'). This makes it parallel to words like 'employee' and 'refugee.'
The '-ee' suffix is clever because it flips perspective—'detain' is what someone does, but 'detainee' is what happens to you, similar to how 'employ' creates 'employee'! It's become a common word in human rights discussions, highlighting the difference between detention (temporary) and imprisonment (permanent with trial).
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