Wordwyrt

offend

/əˈfend/uh-FEND
/əˈfɛnd/uh-FEND

Meaningto strike against

Common meaning: to cause someone hurt or annoyance

‘against (form of ob-, before f)’ + ‘to strike, ward off’ → offend

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√DHAN‘strike’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 164, p. 735 · scan
  2. Latin-fendō, -fēnsum‘to strike, ward off’
  3. Frenchoffendre
  4. Middle Englishoffendensource
  5. Englishoffend‘to cause someone hurt or annoyance’ · today

fend also in: fencedefenddefence

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin -fendō ‘to strike, ward off’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry -fendō, p. 528 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry FENCE, p. 206 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

defencedefendfence

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