Where does “fend” come from?

Fend comes from Middle English fend, from Old English fēond, from Latin defendo meaning "to ward off," derived from Latin de- "away" and the Proto-Indo-European root peh₁-.

fend (English): To take care of oneself; to take responsibility...

Definitions

  1. To take care of oneself; to take responsibility...

Ancestry of “fend”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishfēndAn enemy, foe or fiend
2Old Englishfēondenemy; adversary, foe, enemy, fiend, devil,...
3Proto-Germanic*fijand—
4Proto-Germanicfijandzenemy, fiend
5Proto-Germanicfijānąto hate; to dislike
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₁-to hate, hurt

Words derived from “fend”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₁- →