Where does “undefended” come from?
Undefended comes from English defend plus the prefix un-, tracing through Latin unus and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European óynos and h₂ent-.
undefended (English): Not defended
Definitions
- Not defended
Ancestry of “undefended”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | defended | simple past tense and past participle of defend |
| 2 | English | defend | To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect;... |
| 3 | Middle English | defenden | defend |
| 4 | Old French | défendre | to defend |
| 5 | Latin | dēfendō | to drive away |
| 6 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 7 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 8 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 9 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |