defender
(dɪˈfɛndə(r))
Forms: 3, 6 defendor, 4–7 -our, (4 -owr, 5 deffendour), 5– defender.
[ME. and AFr. defendour = OF. defendeor (nom. defendere), mod.F. défendeur, f. defend-re to defend. See -er2 3.
The OF. oblique case defendeor, -edor, comes from a Romanic type dēfenditōr-em: cf. Pr., Sp., Pg. defendedor, It. difenditore; the nom. defendere, -ierre, Pr. defendaire, was formed on the analogy of ns. with -eor, -edor, in the oblique case from L. -ātōr-em.]
1. a. One who defends, or wards off an attack; esp. one who fights in defence of a fortress, city, etc.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 198 He may ys owe lese, ȝyf þe defendor aþ þe myȝte. a 1325 Prose Psalter xxxix. [xl.] 24 Þou art myn helper and my defendour. 1483 Cath. Angl. 93 A defender, defensor. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 13 Our kynge and defender. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. (1611) 26 Men always knew that when force and iniury was offered, they might be defendours of themselues. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 128 The power..To banish your Defenders. c 1750 in ‘Bat’ Crick. Man. (1850) 30 The oftener is the defender able to run between the wicket and the stand. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 474 After a severe struggle the defenders were driven out. 1878 Seeley Stein II. 128 All the inhabitants of the State are born defenders of it. |
† b. The person who accepts the challenge to combat in wager of battle: = defendant n. 2.
| 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie, If it be on the defendors side, he may refuse the combat offered. |
† c. A dog kept for purposes of defence; a watch-dog. Obs.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 124 margin, The greater sociable Dogs or defenders. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 184/1 The Defenders are Dogs that forsake not their Master in Life nor Death. |
d. Irish Hist. (with capital.) Originally, one who defended his home against marauders; later, towards the end of the 18th c., the name assumed by a society of Roman Catholics formed to resist the Orangemen. (See Lecky, Eng. in Eighteenth Cent. VII.)
| 1796 Hull Advertiser 13 Feb. 3/1 Defenders!!..a party of these miscreants attacked a small public-house..on the Trim road. 1798 Ann. Reg. 155 Irritated by this usage, the Catholics also associated for their defence, whence they were called Defenders. 1842 S. C. Hall Ireland II. 121 The Peep-of-day-boys originated in the north, about the year 1785..they were met by a counter association, ‘the Defenders’. 1890 Lecky Eng. in 18th C. VII. 12 For six or eight months Defender outrages continued in this county almost uncontrolled. |
e. Sport. The holder of a championship, cup, etc., who defends the title (opp. to challenger).
2. a. One who defends, upholds, or maintains by argument; one who speaks or writes in defence of a person, cause, or opinion.
| 1544 (title), A Supplycacion to our most soveraigne Lorde Kynge Henry the Eyght, Kynge of England,..and moste ernest defender of Christes gospell. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. iv. iv. (1611) 134 Defenders of that which is Popish. 1685 Stillingfl. Orig. Brit. i. 3 The Defenders of this Tradition. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Char. Wks. (Bohn) II. 58 They are headstrong believers and defenders of their opinion. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 377 The Sophists have found an enthusiastic defender in the distinguished historian of Greece. |
b. defender of the faith: a title borne by the sovereigns of England since Henry VIII, on whom it (i.e. Fidei defensor) was conferred by Pope Leo X in 1521 as a reward for writing against Luther. Cf. defensor.
| [1530 Act 21 Hen. VIII (title), Anno regni inuictissimi principis Henrici octaui, Angliæ et Franciæ regis, fidei defensoris..vicesimi primi.] 1528 Tindale Obed. Chr. Man Wks. I. 186 One is called Most Christian King; another, Defender of the faith. 1540 Act 31 Hen. VIII, Henry the eight by the grace of God, King of England and of France, Defendor of faith. 1558 in Strype Ann. Ref. I. App. i. 2 Elizabeth, by the grace of God..defendour of the faith. 1623 Ld. Herbert to Jas. I in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. III. 165 Your sacred Majestie..beeinge Defender of our Faithe. |
3. The party sued in an action at law; = defendant n. 3. (Now the term in Sc. Law; opposed to pursuer; also used in Roman Law treatises.)
| c 1450 in Surtees Misc. (1890) 59 Als well þe playntyffe as þe defender in all maner of playnttes. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 146 All Prosecutors may compear with four, and the Defenders with six of their Friends. 1861 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot., Defender is the party against whom the conclusions of a process or action are directed. 1880 Muirhead Gaius iv. §102 In certain cases..the defender in an action in personam must give security even when conducting his own defence. |
4. In the game of Ombre: see defence n. 2 c.
| 1878 H. H. Gibbs Ombre 33 The Defender has to fight out the game against the other two players. |
Hence Deˈfenderism (Irish Hist.), the principles or policy of the Defenders. (Sense 1 d above.)
| 1795 Hull Advertiser 19 Sept. 1/4 He..avowed the principles of Defenderism. 1796 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 330 It is now plain that Catholic defenderism is the only restraint upon Protestant ascendency. 1837 Fraser's Mag. XV. 54 Defenderism finds fuel in Connaught, Leinster, and Munster. 1890 Lecky Eng. in 18th C. VII. 13. |
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▸ Sport. In football, hockey, etc.: a player whose position is in a team's defence; a defensive player.
| 1922 Times 23 Jan. 15/1 More than once one saw an England defender beaten like a back in Association football is sometimes beaten by a clever forward. 1936 Frederick (Maryland) Post 27 Nov. 3/5 Ninety per cent of completed passes are caught in the open with no defender within fouling range. 1973 P. Arnold & C. Davis Hamlyn Bk. World Soccer 192/2 British teams would usually be found playing eight forwards, one half and one defender. 1980 L. Hoy & C. Carter Tackle Basketball iv. 57 By..keeping in contact with the position of the ball, defenders are able to anticipate and react to changes in the attacking play. 1994 Sunday Times (Nexis) 6 Mar. ii. 6/2 [There is] the desire to have what football managers call the spine of the side—goalkeeper, central defender, midfielder and centre-forward. |