De*fend" (d&esl;*f&ebreve;nd"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defended;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Defending.]
[F. défendre, L.
defendere; de- + fendere (only in comp.) to strike; perh. akin to Gr. qei`nein to strike, and E. dint. Cf. Dint, Defense, Fend.]
1. To ward
or fend off;
to drive back or away;
to repel. [A Latinism & Obs.]
Th' other strove for to
defend
The force of Vulcan with his might and
main.
Spenser.
2. To prohibit; to forbid. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Which God defend that I should wring from him.
Shak. 3.
To repel danger or harm from; to
protect; to secure against attack; to maintain against force or argument; to uphold; to guard; as, to
defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to defend the absent; -- sometimes followed by from or against; as, to defend one's self from, or against, one's enemies.
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. 4. (Law.) To deny the right of the
plaintiff in regard to (the suit, or the wrong charged); to oppose or
resist, as a
claim at law; to contest, as a
suit. Burrill.
Syn. -- To Defend, Protect.
To defend is literally to ward off; to protect is to cover 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.
As birds flying, so will the Lord
of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will
deliver it.
Is. xxxi. 5. Leave not the
faithful side
That gave thee being, still shades thee and protects.
Milton.
Hear it pronounced