Webster's English Dictionary

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defense

de.fense or de.fence \di-'fen(t)s, 'de--.\ \-l*s\ n [ME, fr. OF, fr. 
   (assumed) VL defensa, fr. L, fem. of defensus, pp.] chiefly Brit  of 
   defendere 1a: the act of defending  1b: a defendant's denial, answer, or 
   plea  2: capability of resisting attack  3a: means or method of defending  
   3b: an argument in support or justification  3c: a sequence of moves 
   available in chess to the second player in the open ing 4: defenders or the 
   positions taken up by them  - de.fense.less aj