defense

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈfɛns/; /ˈdiːˌfɛns/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English defense, defens,^[2][3][4] a merger of two Old French words:^[2][3] borrowed from Old French defense (“defence, prohibition”), from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“defence; vengeance”), a noun use of the feminine past participle of Latin dēfendere (“to ward off, protect”) (see defend);^[2][3][5][6] and defens, from Medieval Latin dēfēnsum (“thing protected or forbidden”), its neuter past participle.^[2][3][4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged traces the first to an assumed Vulgar Latin *dēfēnsa.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of guarding or shielding from attack; a fortified place (probably before 1300 in Barnhart, in Kyng Alisaunder; c. 1300 in Etymonline).^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English defens and defense merged.^[2][3] The spelling defence arose by the same tendency that produced hence and pence;^[3] Noah Webster made defense the American standard, while British English prefers defence.^[3][1] By the late 14th century the word was used of a speech or writing answering an accusation and of a defendant's answer in a lawsuit.^[3][8] The science of self-defence in fencing or boxing is recorded from about 1600.^[3] By 1935 defense was used as a euphemism for a nation's military resources,^[3] though Middle English already had man of defense, a warrior, and ship of defense, a warship.^[3] In sports it means the players trying to stop the other side from scoring,^[8][6] in which sense Americans often stress the first syllable, in contrast to offense.^[6][1] The animal's natural weapons were called its defenses by 1889, and defense mechanism in psychology dates from 1913.^[3] A verb defense, to take defensive action against an opposing team, dates from 1950 in Merriam-Webster.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – defending against attack; a fortified place.^[3][2]
• late 14th century – a speech or plea answering a charge.^[3]
• c. 1600 – the art of self-defence.^[3]
• 1889 – an animal's natural weapons.^[3]
• 1913 – defense mechanism.^[3]
• 1935 – national military resources.^[3]
• 1950 – as a verb in sports.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of defending against attack, danger or injury.
2. A means or method of defending; a defensive structure.
3. An argument in support or justification of something.
4. (law) A defendant's answer to a charge or claim; the defendant and their legal counsel.
5. The art of defending oneself; self-defense.
6. (sports) The team or players trying to stop the opponents from scoring; defensive play.
7. The military forces and industries of a nation, and the policy concerning them.

Verb

1. (sports) To try to stop an opposing team or player from scoring.

Word family

• defenseless
• defenselessly
• defenselessness
• defensible
• defensive
• nondefense
• self-defense

Related words

• defence
• defend
• defendant
• fence
• offense

Usage notes

Defense is the American spelling and defence the British.^[3][1][9] In sports use, American speakers often pronounce it with the stress on the first syllable, as the opposite of offense.^[6][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins