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forfend

[fawr-fend]

Origin

verb (used with object)

to defend, secure, or protect.

to fend off, avert, or prevent.

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 flee; abscond:

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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."

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forfend

for·fend