Talk:fend

fend
"To take care or responsibility for oneself." This is what fend for oneself means, but does fend mean this by itself? Kappa 00:38, 13 May 2008 (UTC)


 * has more than enough cites to meet RFV. My impression from various searches that I tried is that fend: might be used in this sense only when there's something attached to it that kind of gets in the way of the "for oneself", if you know what I mean. (I really can't say for sure, though. b.g.c. is a decent tool for finding cites, but a less-decent tool for discerning patterns of use.) —Ruakh TALK 02:02, 13 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Good cite. fend seems to be in a small number (three?) of possible constructions for most of its usage. I wonder if it has much non-literary usage apart from the three idiomatic or set phrase constructions. DCDuring TALK 02:13, 13 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Well, more than three constructions, but not too many more. It also sometimes appears as "'fend" as if it were a more current dialect abbreviation of "defend" rather than a 600+ year-old one as the etymology reported in Middle English dictionaries suggests. DCDuring TALK 16:51, 13 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Please consider this 1867 definition: "an aphæresis from defend; to ward off." In boating, to fend - to prevent from touching or harming; fender - an object placed between the vessel and something to prevent abrasion or harm. Last has a similar use in automobiles. - Amgine/talk 22:39, 13 September 2008 (UTC)