See Also: SELF DEFENCE(law)
defence(dictionary)
self-defence(dictionary)
defence(2)(dictionary)
defence(1)(dictionary)
self-defence(dictionary)
Defence:(law)
DILATORY DEFENCE(law)
defence mechanism(dictionary)
civil defence(dictionary)

defence(1) (iou)



defence noun. Also *defense. ME.
[Old French defens(e) (mod. defense) from late Latin use as nouns of defensum, defensa neut. and fem. pa. pples of defendere: see DEFEND.]
I.
Prohibition. obsolete exc. as below. ME.
in defence (of fish or waters) prohibited from being taken or fished in.
The action of warding off. LME-L16.
II.
gen. The action of guarding from attack; resistance against attack; protection. ME.
civil defence: see CIVIL adjective. defence in depth a system of defence with successive areas of resistance. line of defence (a) Military a line representing the course of a projectile fired from a curtain-wall to defend a bastion; (b) a line or series of points at which an enemy is resisted (lit. & fig.). SELF-DEFENCE.
A. Radcliffe What are your weapons of defence? Proverb: Attack is the best form of defence.
b. The faculty or capacity of defending; strength against attack. L15-M17.
Spenser A man of great defence.
A means of resisting attack; a defensive force; the military resources of a country; in pl., fortifications, defensive installations. ME.
Bible (AV): Psalms 94:22 The Lord is my defence. C. Ryan His real fear was that German armour..would break through his meagre defences. Rolling Stone His immune system, the body's defense against illness. attrib.: C. R. Attlee The Government are thinking..of having a Defence Minister.
Defending, supporting, or maintaining by argument; justification, vindication; an argument, speech, or writing used to this end. LME.
B. Jowett Socrates prefaces his defence by resuming the attack. H. James Will you hear me abused without opening your lips in my defence?
(The science or art of) defending oneself; self-defence. arch. E17.
Chess. A move or series of moves played with the object of countering an opponent's attack. Also, any opening or opening variation initiated by Black. E17.
French defence, Indian defence, Nimzowitsch defence, Sicilian defence, etc.
Sports & Games. An attempt to resist an opponent's attack; play, moves, or tactics aimed at such resistance; (the function of) those members of a team whose principal responsibility is to resist attacks; Cricket batting, the batsmen, (opp. to bowling, the bowlers). E19.
b. A reigning champion's attempt to retain a title. M20.
Psychoanalysis. Avoidance of conscious conflict or anxiety by repression, compensation, projection, or other (unconscious) mechanism; a mechanism for this (= defence mechanism (b) below). E20.
III. (Orig. from branch I, later also from II.)
Law. A defendant's denial of the truth of allegations made against him or her; a pleading in answer to a plaintiff's statement of claim; the case against an allegation or claim; an issue of law or fact that could relieve a defendant of liability. Also, the person(s) defending the accused. LME.
A. Paton The defence will be that the shot was fired in fear and not to kill. Rolling Stone The defense had argued insanity.
Comb.: defence bond: issued by a government borrowing money for military defence; defenceman in ice hockey and lacrosse, a player in a defensive position; defence mechanism (a) a process by which an organism reacts against pathogens, predators, etc.; (b) Psychoanalysis a usu. unconscious mental process avoiding conscious conflict or anxiety.
defenceless adjective (a) without defence; unprotected; (b) affording no defence or protection: M16.
defencelessly adverb E19.
defencelessness noun E18.