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.