Etymograph

English

defend

Defend comes from Latin dēfendō ‘to ward off’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- ‘to strike, slay, kill’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰen-1‘to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fendō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendō1‘to ward off’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400defendre1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defenden1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1485defend1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English defend
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, ij: “Broder said sir launcelot wete ye wel I am…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰen-Wiktionary, English defend‘to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fendōWiktionary, English defendreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendōWiktionary, English defend‘to ward off’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400defendreWiktionary, English defend
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defendenWiktionary, English defend
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1485defendWiktionary, English defend. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, ij: “Broder said sir launcelot wete ye wel I am…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with defend, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- ‘to strike, slay, kill’

  • fence ← defens
  • bane ← bana ← *banō ← *banô
  • infest ← infesten ← infester ← īnfestō ← īnfestus

through Latin *fendō ‘hit, thrust’

  • offensive ← offensif ← offendre ← offendre ← offendō
  • offense ← offence ← offensa ← offendō
  • offend ← offendre ← offendō

15 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

verb To ward off attacks against (something or someone).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “defend”. 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- / defend