Fend

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /fɛnd/

Definitions

1. To guard against potential threats or attacks while actively working to maintain safety and security in a situation
2. To protect oneself by pushing back or defending against aggression or difficulties ; to take care of one's own needs or responsibilities independently
3. To keep danger or assault at bay by taking action to prevent harm ; to support oneself by managing resources or duties without outside help

Etymology: The verb "fend" is a shortening of the older "defend," and the shortening happened in Middle English, when speakers of the time clipped "defenden" down to "fenden," meaning to defend, fight, or prevent. The longer form came through Old French "deffendre" from Latin "defendere," which literally meant "to ward off," built from a prefix meaning "away" and a root meaning "hit" or "thrust." So the sense of striking away an attack is still present in the modern meaning. The verb also has a second, unexpected parent. Its Middle English form "fenden" overlapped with "fiend," which came from Old English "feond," meaning enemy or foe, a word that eventually came to mean the devil. That older sense of an adversary lingers in the modern idea of fending off a hostile force. Since both lines produced the same spelling in Middle English, the two histories have blurred together, but they begin from separate roots.

Synonyms: defend, guard, protect, ward off, repel

Antonyms: attack, assail, assault, invade, endanger