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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 or vessel (Naut.), to prevent its running against anything with too much violence.

One who or that which defends or protects by warding off harm; as:

Fiendlike. [Obs.] Chaucer.

A joint defendant. Blackstone.

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.

Capable of being defended; defensible. [R.]

Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive. [Obs.] With men of courage and with means defendant. Shak.

One who is defended. [R. & Ludicrous]

One who defends; one who maintains, supports, protects, or vindicates; a champion; an advocate; a vindicator. Provinces . . . left without their ancient and puissant defenders. Motley.

A female defender. [R.] Defendress of the faith. Stow.

Master; sir; -- a title of a Turkish state official and man of learning, especially one learned in the law.

To hinder; to fend off; to avert; to prevent the approach of; to forbid or prohibit. See Forfend. God forefend it should ever be recorded in our history. Landor. It would be a far better work . . . to forefend the cruelty. I. Taylor.

To prohibit; to forbid; to avert. [Archaic] Which peril heaven forefend! Shak.

Half; by the part. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- n.

To displease; to make angry; to affront. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city. Prov. xviii. 19.

An offender. [R.] Holland.

One who offends; one who violates any law, divine or human; a wrongdoer. I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. 1 Kings i. 21.

A woman who offends. Shak.

A title formerly given to one of the chief Turkish officers of state. He was chancellor of the empire, etc.

To defend from the weather; to shelter. Shak. [We] barked the white spruce to weather-fend the roof. Emerson.