Kilo Lingo

la

feminine

defɑ̃s

Line drawing of défense
Coloured illustration of défense
#1014 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

defence

Word origin

From Latin defensa, the feminine past participle of defendere ('to ward off, defend'), itself dis- ('away') plus -fendere ('to strike'). The same root gives English defence, defend and fend.

Origin
Latin
Root
defensa
English cognates
defence, defend, fend

Grammar

Genderfeminine
Pluraldéfenses

Examples

L' au .

The lawyer presents his defence at the trial.

.

No smoking in this building.

.

The defence minister made a statement.

cette .

The defence of this old town used to be very strong.

.

This big animal lost a tusk during a fight.

Where this fits

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French · Free printables

défense: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "défense" (defence): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 21.