"D" Word Origins

defamatory

Origin

From Middle French diffamatoire (altered after the prefix de-), from Medieval Latin diffāmātōrius.

defame

Latin

From Anglo-Norman defamer, from Latin diffāmō, built from fāma ("reputation, rumour") — the same root that gives us "fame."

default

Latin

From Old French defaute ("fault, lack"), ultimately from Latin de- ("away") plus fallere ("to deceive, fail").

DEFCON

Origin

A blend of "defense" and "condition."

defeat

Middle English

From Middle English defeten, ultimately tied to a root meaning "undone" or "disfigured" — the sense of being ruined or destroyed came before the modern sporting sense.

defeated

Origin

From defeat + -ed.

defeatism

Origin

From defeat + -ism, after French défaitisme, coined in 1915 by Russian writer Grigorij Aleksinskij as a translation of Russian пораже́нчество (poražénčestvo), also coined by him as a derivation of порази́ть (porazítʹ, “to strike, defeat”).

defeatist

French

From "defeat" plus the suffix -ist, modelled on French défaitiste, a term first used to describe those who wanted to give up during wartime.

defecate

Latin

From Latin dēfaecātus, the past participle of dēfaecāre ("to remove dregs, purify"), related to faeces ("dregs, sediment").

defecation

Origin

17th century, borrowed from Late Latin dēfaecātiō.

defect

Latin

From Latin defectus ("a failure, lack"), from deficere ("to fail, undo"), formed from de- + facere ("to do").

defection

Latin

From Latin dēfectiō, built on the same root as "defect."

defective

Late Latin

From Old French defectif, from Late Latin dēfectīvus, sharing its root with "defect."

defector

Latin

Borrowed from Latin dēfector, built on the same root as "defect" and "defection."

defedation

Origin

From Latin defoedatio, from Late Latin defoedare (“to defile”), from de- with foedare, present tense verb of foedo, from foedus (“foul”).

defence

Late Latin

From Old French defens/defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa ("protection"); it replaced the native Old English word bewering.

defenceless

Origin

From defence + the suffix -less ("without").

defend

Latin

From Old French defendre, from Latin dēfendere ("to ward off"), which displaced the native Old English word bewerian.

defendant

Latin

From Old French defendant, the present participle of defendre, from Latin dēfendere.

defender

Middle English

From Anglo-Norman defendour, or from Middle English defenden + -ere, following the pattern of "defend" + "-er."

defense

Late Latin

From Old French defens/defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa ("protection").

defenseless

Origin

From defense + -less.

defensible

Origin

From Old French defensable, from Latin defensibilem. Equivalent to defense + -ible.

defensive

Middle French

From Middle French défensif, formed from defense + -ive.

defer

Latin

From Old French differer, from Latin differō — the same ultimate root as "differ," making them doublets of each other.

deference

French

From French déférence, formed from defer + -ence.

deferential

Origin

From deference (or its Latin type *dēferentia) + -al; compare essence, essential; prudence, prudential, etc. Coined by Scottish novelist, poet and playwright Walter Scott.

DeFi

English

A blend of decentralised finance, shortening de- from decentralised and fi from finance.

defiance

Old French

From Old French desfiance, from desfier, ultimately built on the same root as "defy."

defiant

French

From French défiant, from défier ("to defy"); a doublet of "diffident."

defibrillator

Origin

From "defibrillate" (to stop fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat) plus the agent suffix -or.

deficiency

Latin

From "deficient" plus the noun-forming suffix -cy, echoing Latin dēficientia.

deficient

Latin

From Latin dēficiēns, the present participle of dēficere ("to lack, fail"), the same root as "defect."

deficit

Latin

From French déficit, ultimately from Latin dēficit ("it is lacking"). Related to "defect."

defigure

Origin

From de- + figure.

defile

Old French

The verb comes from Middle English defilen, tangled up with an older word defoulen ("to trample, oppress"), itself from Old French defouler ("to trample, crush"). The noun sense (a narrow pass) comes separately from French défiler, "to march in file."

define

Latin

From Old French definir, from Latin dēfīniō, "to set a limit or boundary" — built from dē- + fīniō ("to bound, finish").

definite

Latin

From Latin dēfīnītus, the past participle of dēfīniō — the same root as "define."

definitely

Origin

From "definite" + the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

definition

Latin

From Latin dēfīnītiō, from dēfīniō — the same root as "define."

definitive

Latin

From Middle French définitif, from the same Latin root as "define."

definitively

Origin

From "definitive" + "-ly."

deflagration

Origin

From Latin dēflagrātiō, from dēflagrāre.

deflate

Origin · 1891

Coined around 1891 from de- + (in)flate, first used for balloons losing air.

deflect

Latin

From Latin deflecto, from de- ("away") + flecto ("to bend").

deflection

Latin

From Latin dēflexiō, from dēflectere ("to bend away") — the noun form of "deflect."

deflector

Origin

From "deflect" + the agent suffix "-or."

deflower

Origin

From Middle English deflouren, from Old French desflorer (modern French déflorer), from Late Latin deflōrāre. By surface analysis, de- + flower.