FENCE

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English fens, short for defens defense Date: 14th century a means of protection ; defense , 2. a barrier intended to prevent escape or intrusion or to mark a boundary, an immaterial barrier or boundary line , fencing 1, 4. a receiver of stolen goods, a place where stolen goods are bought, ~less adjective ~lessness noun II. verb (~d; fencing) Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to enclose with a ~, b. to keep in or out with a ~, to ward off, to provide a defense for, to sell (stolen property) to a ~, intransitive verb 1. to practice fencing, b. to use tactics of attack and defense resembling those of fencing, to parry arguments by shifting ground, to provide protection, ~r noun