Etymograph

English

defence

Defence comes from Old French defens, from Late Latin dēfēnsa ‘protection’, from Latin dēfendō, from dē- + *fendō ‘to strike’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- ‘to kill’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰen-1‘to strike, kill’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fendō2‘to strike’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*fendō2‘to hit, thrust’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendō2‘to defend’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēfēnsa1‘protection’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400defens1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defens1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599defence1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English defence
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin defensa
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “In cases of defence ’tis best to weigh The…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰen-Wiktionary, English defence‘to strike, kill’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fendōWiktionary, Latin defensa‘to strike’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*fendōWiktionary, Latin defensa‘to hit, thrust’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendōWiktionary, Latin defensa‘to defend’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēfēnsaWiktionary, English defence‘protection’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400defensWiktionary, English defence
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defensWiktionary, English defence
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599defenceWiktionary, English defence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “In cases of defence ’tis best to weigh The…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’

do, fact, hot, deal, fair, fan, fashion, mid, feature, theme, custom, benefit, ethnic, treasury, treasure, sufficient, ethical, thesis, aesthetic, synthetic, theology, doom, tick, dis, feast, atheist, ethic, auditorium, deed, auditor, atheism, thematic, ethos, fanatic, familial, medial, forfeit, demi, medallion, spade, 128 more

through Latin *fendō ‘to hit’

offensive, offense, offend, 8 more

through Latin dēfendō ‘to defend’

fend, 8 more

Today it means

noun The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “defence”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin defensa. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- / defence

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