Where does “defencelessness” come from?
defencelessness (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.
defencelessness (English): The state or condition of being defenceless
Definitions
- The state or condition of being defenceless
Ancestry of “defencelessness”, step by step
| 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 | — |
| 8 | Latin | dē- | — |
| 9 | Latin | dē | — |
| 10 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 11 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | posti | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |