Where does “self-defence” come from?
self-defence (English) comes from English defence, from Middle English defens, from Old French defens, from Late Latin defensa, from Latin defensus, from Latin dēfendō, from Latin dē-, from Latin dē — afterwards, post; by, at.
Ancestry of “self-defence”, step by step
self-defence traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English defence
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | defence | The action of defending, of protecting from... |
| 2 | Middle English | defens | the act of defending |
| 3 | Old French | defens | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | defensa | protection; bounded, defended; defence |
| 5 | Latin | defensus | driven away, having been driven away; defended,... |
| 6 | Latin | dēfendō | to drive away |
| 7 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 8 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 9 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 10 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |
via English Self
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Self | Himself, herself, itself, themself, themselves; that specific (person mentioned) |
| 2 | Middle English | salve | Alternative form of sauf |
| 3 | Old English | sealf | salve |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | salbu | salve, ointment |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | salbō | salve, ointment |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | solp-éh₂ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | selp- | fat, oil |