Etymologically
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defender

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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.

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