Fend (?), n.
A fiend.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
© Webster 1913.
Fend (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fended; p. pr. & vb. n. Fending.] [Abbrev. fr. defend.]
To keep off; to prevent from entering or hitting; to ward off; to shut out; -- often with off; as, to fend off blows.
With fern beneath to fend the bitter cold.
Dryden.
To fend off a boat ∨ vessel Naut., to prevent its running against anything with too much violence.
© Webster 1913.
Fend, v. i.
To act on the defensive, or in opposition; to resist; to parry; to shift off.
The dexterous management of terms, and being able to fend . . . with them, passes for a great part of learning.
Locke.
© Webster 1913.