Where does “defence” come from?
Defence comes from Middle English defense, from Old French defense, from Latin defensa, the feminine past participle of defendere meaning to ward off or protect.
defence (English): The action of defending, of protecting from...
Definitions
- The action of defending, of protecting from...
Ancestry of “defence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | defens | the act of defending |
| 2 | Old French | defens | — |
| 3 | Late Latin | defensa | protection; bounded, defended; defence |
| 4 | Latin | defensus | driven away, having been driven away; defended,... |
| 5 | Latin | dēfendō | to drive away |
| 6 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 7 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 8 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 9 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |