fence English · revision 6362

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=before 1338|origins=la defendo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fɛns/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English fens, a shortened form of defens (see [[defence]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) from Latin [[m|la|defendo|alt=dēfendere|t=to ward off]].^(Cresswell 2021) The same shortening gave [[fend]] and [[fender]].^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of defending: before 1338, in Mannyng's ''Chronicle'', in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) about 1330 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An enclosure or barrier, ''that which serves as a defence'', is first recorded in the Paston Letters (1461).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Swordsmanship, the art of fencing, is from 1533,^(OED 1989) and the verb, to fight with swords, is first found in Shakespeare's ''Merry Wives of Windsor'' (1598).^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, to surround with a fence, is from 1435.^(Barnhart 1988) A receiver of stolen goods is thieves' slang from about 1700, from the idea of dealing under cover of secrecy, and the verb in that sense from the 1610s.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) ''On the fence'', undecided, is from 1828.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1338 – defence.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1435 – to enclose with a fence.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1461 – a barrier, enclosure.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1533 – swordsmanship.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1700 – a receiver of stolen goods.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1828 – on the fence.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A barrier of posts, rails or wire enclosing an area of land.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A barrier for horses to jump in a race.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' A dealer in stolen goods.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To surround or close off with a fence.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To fight with swords as a sport.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To be evasive in answering questions.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' To deal in stolen goods.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fencer]]

+ * [[fenceless]]

+ * [[fencelessness]]

+ * [[fencelike]]

+ * [[fence-mending]]

+ * [[fencerow]]

+ * [[fence-sitter]]

+ * [[fence-sitting]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[defence]]

+ * [[fend]]

+ * [[fender]]

+ * [[fencing]]

+ * [[offence]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}