Where does “defend” come from?
Defend comes from Middle English defenden, from Old French deffendre, from Latin defendere, composed of the prefix de- and Latin de.
defend (English): To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect;...
Definitions
- To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect;...
Ancestry of “defend”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | defenden | defend |
| 2 | Old French | défendre | to defend |
| 3 | Latin | dēfendō | to drive away |
| 4 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 5 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 6 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 7 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |