défendre French · revision 17104

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont|origins=la dēfendō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /de.fɑ̃dʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''défendre'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|dēfendō|t=to ward off, repel; to protect]], from [[m|la|dē-]] and a simple verb “*fendō” “to strike”, found only in compounds (see [[offense]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|3, 28b) The sense “to forbid”, found in Late Latin legal use, is peculiar to Gallo-Romance, Italian is thought to have borrowed it from there.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Rey connects “*fendō” with [[sa|हन्ति|tr=hánti|t=he strikes]] and [[grc|θείνω|tr=theínō|t=to strike]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|difendere]], [[ca|defendre]], [[es|defender]] and [[pt|defender]]; [[en|defend]] was borrowed from French in the 14th century.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Passion'' of Clermont (late 10th century) has the reflexive ''se défendre'' “to protect oneself against”; in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) it means to protect someone against an attack, to hold a town against the enemy, and also to forbid.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the mid-12th century ''se défendre'' meant to deny an accusation (Laws of William the Conqueror), and ''se défendre de'' later “to refrain from”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The legal sense “to defend someone in court” is in Amyot (1559), and the familiar ''se défendre'' “to manage, hold one's own” is from 1920.^(TLFi) ''À son corps défendant'', first “in self-defence”, now means “reluctantly”.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ The meaning “to forbid” (''défendre à qqn de'') is as old as the protective one; in Belgian French one ''défend'' a thesis where France says ''soutenir''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 10th century – ''Se défendre'', ''Passion''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – “To protect” and “to forbid”, ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * mid-12th century – ''Se défendre'' “to deny”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1283 – The derivative ''défendeur'' “defendant”, Beaumanoir.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1559 – To defend in court, Amyot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1920 – ''Se défendre'' “to manage”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|defend]], protect: ''défendre son pays'', ''défendre chèrement sa vie''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To defend, uphold (an opinion, a person): ''défendre une cause'', ''(law)'' to defend (an accused).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # To [[m|en|forbid]]: ''défendre à qqn de sortir'', ''il est défendu de fumer''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Se défendre'': to defend oneself, ''se défendre de'', to deny, refrain from, ''(familiar)'' to hold one's own, manage.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[défendable]]

+ * [[indéfendable]]

+ * [[défendeur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[défense]]

+ * [[défenseur]]

+ * [[offense]]

+ * [[en|defend]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}