Where does “defencelessly” come from?
defencelessly (English) comes from English defenceless, from English defence, from Middle English defens, from Old French defens, from Late Latin defensa, from Latin defensus, from Latin dēfendō, from Latin dē- — afterwards, post; by, at.
defencelessly (English): In a defenceless manner
Definitions
- In a defenceless manner
Ancestry of “defencelessly”, step by step
defencelessly traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English defenceless
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | defenceless | Without defence; undefended |
| 2 | English | defence | The action of defending, of protecting from... |
| 3 | Middle English | defens | the act of defending |
| 4 | Old French | defens | — |
| 5 | Late Latin | defensa | protection; bounded, defended; defence |
| 6 | Latin | defensus | driven away, having been driven away; defended,... |
| 7 | Latin | dēfendō | to drive away |
| 8 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 9 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 10 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 11 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |