forfend

[fawr-fend]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forfend ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to defend, secure, or protect.

to fend off, avert, or prevent.

Archaic. forbid.

Also forefend.

Origin of forfend

First recorded in 1350–1400, forfend is from the Middle English word forfenden. See for-, fend

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for forfend

forestall, preclude, counteract, hinder, prevent, avert, prohibit, cease, deter, impede, exclude, obviate, thwart, forbid, restrict, hamper, halt, avoid, restrain, stop

Examples from the Web for forfend

Historical Examples of forfend

Forfend me from a man who weighs every expression with Scotch prudence.
The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Volume I (of II)
Charles Darwin
Of all travelling companionship, forfend us from that of a married man!
Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 (Volume XXVI)
Various
And allowance must likewise be made for thy connubial grief which caused thee to forfend thy wife's body from the demon.
The Fantasy Fan January 1934
Various
Is it not rather the blind brute instinct of self-protection, forfend what may?
Canada: the Empire of the North
Agnes C. Laut

British Dictionary definitions for forfend

forfend

forefend

verb (tr)

US to protect or secure

obsolete to prohibit or prevent

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for forfend

also forefend, late 14c., "to protect, prohibit; to avert, prevent," a hybrid from for- + fend, from Latin defendere "to ward off."