English
defendant
Defendant comes from Latin dēfendō ‘to defend, guard or protect, to stand up for,…’, from *fendō ‘hit, thrust’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-‘to do’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰéndʰetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*xʷendōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fendōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsame form‘hit, thrust’reconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendōas dēfendere‘to defend, guard or protect, to stand up for, to stick up for’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400defendant
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defendaunt‘defending’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599defendant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-‘to do’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰéndʰetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*xʷendōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fendōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsame form‘hit, thrust’reconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfendōas dēfendere‘to defend, guard or protect, to stand up for, to stick up for’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400defendant
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defendaunt‘defending’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599defendant
Earliest quotation: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “Thus comes the English with full power upon us;…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, hot, deal, fair, fashion, mid, fan, feature, theme, benefit, custom, ethnic, treasury, treasure, ethical, thesis, sufficient, aesthetic, theology, doom, synthetic, tick, feast, dis, atheist, ethic, deed, auditorium, auditor, atheism, thematic, ethos, familial, medial, demi, forfeit, spade, deem, feral, 130 more
through Latin *fendō ‘hit, thrust’
offensive, offense, offend, 8 more
through Latin dēfendō ‘to defend, guard or protect, to stand up for,…’
Today it means
adj Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive, defending.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / defendant