defender

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈfɛndə(ɹ)/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English defendour, borrowed from Anglo-Norman defendour,^[2][3] Old French defendeor, an agent noun from defendre (see defend).^[2][4][5] The Latin word in this sense was defensor.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who wards off an attack, a protector: 1297 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline,^[6][2] and as a surname the early 13th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In law, the party sued in an action is from about 1430–50, and is now chiefly Scots.^[6][7][8] One who upholds something by argument is from 1544,^[6] and Defender of the Faith has been a title of English sovereigns since Henry VIII (1530).^[6] A person challenged to trial by combat is an obsolete sense of 1586,^[6][7] and a watchdog of 1607.^[6] In Irish history the Defenders, a Roman Catholic society in the north of Ireland, are from 1788–96.^[6][7] In sport, a player whose role is to stop the opposition scoring is from 1851,^[7] and the holder of a title who seeks to keep it a further sense.^[8]

Timeline

• 1297 – a protector.^[6]
• c. 1430 – the party sued (law).^[7]
• 1530 – Defender of the Faith.^[6]
• 1544 – an advocate.^[6]
• 1851 – in sport.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who defends someone or something from attack or criticism.
2. In football, hockey and other games, a player whose task is to protect the goal.
3. The holder of a championship who tries to keep it.
4. (Scots law) A defendant.

Related words

• defend
• defence
• defendant
• defensive
• fend

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
8. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (2008), 11th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap