fend

Meanings

Verb

• To take care of oneself; to take responsibility for one's own well-being.
• ); to block or push away ().

Noun

• Self-support; taking care of one's own well-being.
• An enemy; fiend; the Devil.

Origin

• From Middle English fenden ("defend, fight, prevent"), shortening of defenden, from Old French deffendre (Modern défendre), from Latin dēfendō ("to ward off"), from dē- + *fendō, from *gʷʰen-.
• From Middle English fend, feond, from Old English fēond, from Proto-Germanic *fijandz, present participle of *fijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- ("to hate"). More at fiend.