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forfend

[fawr-fend] Origin

for·fend

[fawr-fend]
verb (used with object)
1.
to defend, secure, or protect.
2.
to fend off, avert, or prevent.
3.
Archaic. forbid.
Also, forefend.


Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English forfenden. See for-, fend
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Forfend is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
Collins
World English Dictionary
forfend or forefend (fɔːˈfɛnd)
 
vb
1.  (US) to protect or secure
2.  obsolete to prohibit or prevent
 
forefend or forefend
 
vb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

forfend
late 14c., "to protect, prohibit," a hybrid from for- + fend, from L. defendere "to ward off."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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