Where does “fence” come from?
fence (Middle English) comes from Middle English defence, from Old French defens, from Late Latin defensa, from Latin defensus, from Latin dēfendō, from Latin dē-, from Latin dē, from Latin post — afterwards, post; by, at.
Ancestry of “fence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | defence | — |
| 2 | Old French | defens | — |
| 3 | Late Latin | defensa | protection; bounded, defended; defence |
| 4 | Latin | defensus | driven away, having been driven away; defended,... |
| 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 |