De-fénd', v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. DEFENDED; p. pr. & vb. n. DEFENDING.] [Lat. defendere, from de and obs. fendere; Fr. défendre, Pr. defendre, Sp. & Pg. defender, It. difendere.]
Sense 1. To ward off; to drive back or away; to repel. [Obs.] “To defend again the renegate.” Chaucer.
The other strove for to defend The force of Vulcan with his might and main. Spenser.
Sense 2. To prohibit; to forbid. [Obs.]
The use of wine is little practiced, and in some places defended by customs or laws. Temple.
Which God defend that I should wrong from him. Shak.
Sense 3. To repel danger or harm from; to protect; to secure against attack; to maintain; to uphold; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to defend the absent.
The lord mayor craves aid . . . to defend the city. Shak.
God defend the right. Shak.
A village near it was defended by the river. Clarendon.
Sense 4. (Law.) To deny, as the claim of a plaintiff, or the wrong charged; to oppose or resist, as a claim at law; to contest, as a suit. Burvill.
Synonyms—To DEFEND, PROTECT. To defend is literally to ward off; to protect is to cover over so as to secure against approaching danger. We defend those who are attacked; we protect those who are liable to injury or invasion. A fortress is defended by its guns, and protected by its wall.
And here the access a gloomy grove defends, And here the unnavigable lake extends. Dryden.
Leave not the faithful side That gave thee being, still shades thee and protects. Milton.