defensa

See also: defensà

Catalan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin dēfēnsa.

Noun

defensa f (plural defenses)

1. defense

Etymology 2

Verb

defensa

1. inflection of defensar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “defensa” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “defensa”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “defensa” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “defensa” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin

Etymology

Nominalization of the feminine form of the perfect passive participle of dēfendō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /deːˈfen.sa/, [d̪eːˈfẽːs̠ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /deˈfen.sa/, [d̪eˈfɛnsä]

Noun

dēfēnsa f (genitive dēfēnsae); first declension (Late Latin)

1. (Late Latin) defense, protection

   Synonyms: dēfēnsiō, prōtēctiō, tūtēla, vindicātiō

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	dēfēnsa	dēfēnsae
Genitive	dēfēnsae	dēfēnsārum
Dative	dēfēnsae	dēfēnsīs
Accusative	dēfēnsam	dēfēnsās
Ablative	dēfēnsā	dēfēnsīs
Vocative	dēfēnsa	dēfēnsae

Descendants

• → Catalan: defensa
• → French: défense
  • Turkish: defans
  • → English: defense, defence
• Galician: devesa
• → Galician: defensa
• Italian: difesa
• → Norman: d'fense (Jersey)
• → Occitan: defensa
• Portuguese: defesa, devesa
• Spanish: dehesa
• Sicilian: difisa
• → Spanish: defensa

Participle

dēfēnsa

1. inflection of dēfēnsus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Participle

dēfēnsā

1. ablative feminine singular of dēfēnsus

References

• “defensa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• defensa in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• defensa in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Occitan

Etymology

From Late Latin dēfēnsa.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

defensa f (plural defensas)

1. defense

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈfẽ.sɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈfẽ.sɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈfẽ.sa/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨˈfẽ.sɐ/

• Hyphenation: de‧fen‧sa

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin dēfēnsa. Doublet of defesa and devesa.

Noun

defensa f (plural defensas)

1. (archaic) Alternative form of defesa

Etymology 2

Verb

defensa

1. inflection of defensar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deˈfensa/ [d̪eˈfẽn.sa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ensa
• Syllabification: de‧fen‧sa

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin defēnsa (“bounded, defended”), from Latin defēnsus. Doublet of dehesa, which was inherited. Cognate with English defense.

Noun

defensa f (plural defensas)

1. defense
   • 1888, Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, Ismael:

     Por eso, los nuevos compañeros de Ismael se mantuvieron silenciosos y prudentes, cuando él estalló en cólera en defensa de una culebra. ¿Qué no haría en defensa del pago, y de su vida misma?

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. retaining wall
3. (automotive) bumper

   Synonym: parachoques

Derived terms

• autodefensa, defensa personal
• legítima defensa
• mecanismo de defensa

Noun

defensa m (plural defensas)

1. (sports) back

Related terms

• defender
• defensivo

 

Etymology 2

Verb

defensa

1. inflection of defensar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “defensa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014