Hypertext Webster Gateway: "fend"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Fend \Fend\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fended}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Fending}.] [Abbrev. fr. defend.]
To keep off; 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Fend \Fend\, n.
A fiend. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Fend \Fend\, v. i.
To act on the defensive, or in opposition; to resist; to
parry; to shift off.
The dexterous management of terms, and being able to
fend . . . with them, passes for a great part of
learning. --Locke.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
fend
v 1: try to manage without help; "The youngsters had to fend for
themselves after their parents died"
2: withstand the force of something; "The trees resisted her";
"stand the test of time"; "The mountain climbers had to
fend against the ice and snow" [syn: {resist}, {stand}]
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