English
fend off
fend + off
Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- ‘strike, kill’
…
Latin *fendō ‘hit, thrust’
Latin dēfendō ‘to ward off’
Old French deffendre ‘to defend’
Middle English fenden ‘defend, fight, prevent’
English fend
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep
…
Proto-West Germanic *ab
Old English æf ‘of’
Old English of ‘from’
Middle English of
English off
Today it means
verb To defend against; to repel with force or effort
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / fend off