Defend vs Fend - What's the difference?
defend | fend |
(obsolete) To ward off, repel (an attack or attacker).
*1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.viii:
*:The vertue is, that neither steele, nor stone / The stroke thereof from entrance may defend .
(obsolete) To prevent, to keep (from doing something).
(transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To prohibit, forbid.
*:
*:Broder said sir launcelot wete ye wel I am ful lothe to departe oute of this realme / but the quene hath defended me soo hyhely / that me semeth she wille neuer be my good lady as she hath ben
To ward off attacks from; to fight to protect; to guard.
To support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.
(legal) To make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 14, author=Steven Morris, work=Guardian
, title= (sports) To focus one's energies and talents on preventing opponents from scoring, as opposed to focusing on scoring.
(sports) To attempt to retain a title, or attempt to reach the same stage in a competition as one did in the previous edition of that competition.
(poker slang) To call a raise from the big blind.
To take care of oneself, to take responsibility for oneself.
* 1990 , Messrs Howley and Murphy, quoted in U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor Standards, Oversight hearing on the Federal Service Contract Act , U.S. Government Printing Office, page 40,
* 2003 , Scott Turow Reversible Errors ,
); to block or push away ((non-gloss definition)).
* Dryden
* 1999 , Kuan-chung Lo, Guanzhong Luo, Luo Guanzhong, Moss Roberts, Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel , page 39
* 2002 , Jude Deveraux, A Knight in Shining Armor ,
As verbs the difference between defend and fend
is that defend is to ward off, repel (an attack or attacker) while fend is to take care of oneself, to take responsibility for oneself.As a noun fend is
an enemy; fiend; the Devil.defend
English
Verb
(en verb)Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave, passage=Philip Miles, defending , said: "This was a single instance, there was no allegation of continuing behaviour over a long period of time."}}
Synonyms
* See alsoAntonyms
* attackAnagrams
*fend
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl), from (etyl) . More at (l).Etymology 2
From (etyl)Verb
(en verb)- Mr. Howley. They are telling him how much they will increase the reimbursement for the total labor cost. The contractor is left to fend as he can.
- Chairman Murphy. Obviously, he can’t fend for any more than the money he has coming in.
page 376
- The planet was full of creatures in need, who could not really fend , and the law was at its best when it ensured that they were treated with dignity.
- With fern beneath to fend the bitter cold.
- He fends , he blocks, too skillful to be downed.
page 187
- “ My age is lot like yours. Lone women do not fare well. If I were not there to fend for you, you—”