defendant

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈfen.dənt/, /dəˈfen.dənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman defendant, Old French defendant, the present participle of defendre, to defend (see defend),^[2][3][4] used as a noun.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a present participle adjective, defending, in the phrase him self defendaunt, in his own defence: about 1314.^[5][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The legal noun, a party sued or accused in a court of law, is from about 1400 in Etymonline,^[2] the 14th century in Merriam-Webster.^[3] A defender against attack (before 1533) and one who defends an opinion (1665) are obsolete senses.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1314 – defending (adjective).^[5]
• c. 1400 – a party sued in court.^[2]
• before 1533 – a defender (obsolete).^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The person against whom a legal action or charge is brought in a court of law; compare plaintiff.

Adjective

1. (archaic) Defending.

Word family

• nondefendant
• codefendant

Related words

• respondent
• defend
• defense
• plaintiff
• fend

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press