Etymologically
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defense

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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
  • 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