Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “defens” come from?

defens (Old French) comes from Late Latin defensa, from Latin defensus, from Latin dēfendō, from Latin dē-, from Latin dē, from Latin post, from Latin poste, from Proto-Italic posti — afterwards, post; by, at.

Ancestry of “defens”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Late Latindefensaprotection; bounded, defended; defence
2Latindefensusdriven away, having been driven away; defended,...
3Latindēfendō—
4Latindē-—
5Latindē—
6Latinpostbehind; after, since, besides, except; behind,...
7Latinposteablative singular of postis
8Proto-Italicposti—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpósti—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpósafterwards, post; by, at

Words derived from “defens”

  • defence
  • fence
  • fenced
  • defenceless
  • fencer
  • unfenced
  • defencelessness
  • fenceless
  • fencepost
  • fenceline
  • fencerow
  • defenceman
  • biodefence
  • defencelessly
  • ringfence
  • refence
  • fencelike
  • outfence
  • fencelessness
  • fenceful
  • geofence
  • unfence
  • fencepole
  • フェンス
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pós →