Defencemen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Players whose main job is to protect their own goal and stop opponents from scoring, especially in sports like hockey or soccer
2. Team members stationed near their own net to block attackers and prevent goals, typically in sports such as ice hockey or football
3. Athletes assigned to the rear of the field or rink to defend against the opposing side's scoring attempts in team games

Etymology: "Defencemen" is the plural of "defenceman," a noun for a player whose job is guarding the goal area in sports such as ice hockey. The word is a plain compound: "defence" joined to "man," with the plural formed in the usual way. Its first part comes from Old French "defense," itself from Latin "defensa," the feminine past participle of "defendere," meaning "to ward off." The second part is one of the oldest words in English. "Man" descends from Old English "mann," which meant a human being of either sex as well as an adult male, and it has been part of English vocabulary since the earliest records. The "-man" in "defenceman" carries that sense of a person doing a job, the same pattern found in words like "fireman" or "postman."

Synonyms: defenseman, blueliner, back

Antonyms: forward, winger