DEFEND

verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~re, from Latin ~ere, from de- + -fendere to strike; akin to Old English gūth battle, war, Greek theinein to strike Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to drive danger or attack away from , b. to maintain or support in the face of argument or hostile criticism , to prove (as a doctoral thesis) valid by answering questions in an oral exam, to attempt to prevent an opponent from scoring at , prevent , forbid , to act as attorney for, to deny or oppose the right of a plaintiff in regard to (a suit or a wrong charged) ; contest , to retain or seek to retain (as a title or position) against a challenge in a contest , intransitive verb to take action against attack or challenge, to play or be on defense , to play against the high bidder in a card game, ~able adjective Synonyms: see: ~ see: maintain