DEFENDS
Verb
defends
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of defend
Source: Wiktionary
DEFEND
De*fend", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defended; p. pr. & vb. n. Defending.]
Etym: [F. défendre, L. defendere; de- + fendere (only in comp.) to
strike; perh. akin to Gr. 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.)
Definition: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition