Fend /(?)/

Fend

n.
  1. A fiend. [Obs.]

Fend

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Fended; p. pr. & vb. n. Fending

  1. To keep off; to prevent from entering or hitting; to ward off; to shut out; -- often with off; as, to fend off blows.
    With fern beneath to fend the bitter cold.

Phrases & Compounds

To fend off a boat
to prevent its running against anything with too much violence.

Fend

v. i.
  1. To act on the defensive, or in opposition; to resist; to parry; to shift off.
    The dexterous management of terms, and being able to fend . . . with them, passes for a great part of learning.