Where does “defy” come from?
Defy comes from Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin disfidare, combining the Latin prefix dis- with a root from Proto-Indo-European bʰeydʰ-.
defy (English): To challenge or brave; To refuse to obey; To not...
Definitions
- To challenge or brave; To refuse to obey; To not...
Ancestry of “defy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | desfier | to defy |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | disfidare | renounce one's faith |
| 3 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 4 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 5 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
Words derived from “defy”