English
defense
Defense comes from Middle English defens, from Old French defens, from Late Latin dēfēnsa ‘protection’, from dēfendō ‘to defend’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendō1‘to defend’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēfēnsa2‘protection’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400defens2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defens2
- Englishearliest quotation 1972defense2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin defensa
- 2 Wiktionary, English defense
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Robert Cimbollek, Basketball’s Percentage Offense: “In fact, there is an increase in the effectiveness…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendōWiktionary, Latin defensa‘to defend’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēfēnsaWiktionary, English defense‘protection’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400defensWiktionary, English defense
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defensWiktionary, English defense
- Englishearliest quotation 1972defenseWiktionary, English defense. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Robert Cimbollek, Basketball’s Percentage Offense: “In fact, there is an increase in the effectiveness…”
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’
through Old French defens
Today it means
noun The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or injury.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “defense”; 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 / Latin dēfendō / defense