Where does “fens” come from?
fens (Pennsylvania German) comes from English fence, from Middle English fence, from Middle English defence, from Old French defens, from Late Latin defensa, from Latin defensus, from Latin dēfendō, from Latin dē- — afterwards, post; by, at.
Ancestry of “fens”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | fence | A thin artificial barrier that separates two... |
| 2 | Middle English | fence | — |
| 3 | Middle English | defence | — |
| 4 | Old French | defens | — |
| 5 | Late Latin | defensa | protection; bounded, defended; defence |
| 6 | Latin | defensus | driven away, having been driven away; defended,... |
| 7 | Latin | dēfendō | — |
| 8 | Latin | dē- | — |
| 9 | Latin | dē | — |
| 10 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 11 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | posti | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |