Fend (?), n. A fiend. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Fend (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fended; p. pr. & vb. n. Fending.]
[Abbrev. fr. defend.] 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.
Dryden.
To fend off a boat or vessel (Naut.), to prevent its running against
anything with too much violence.
Fend, v. i. 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.
Locke.
Fen"der (?), n. [From Fend, v. t. & i., cf. Defender.] One who or that
which defends or protects by warding off harm; as: (a) A screen to
prevent coals or sparks of an open fire from escaping to the floor. (b)
Anything serving as a cushion to lessen the shock when a vessel comes
in contact with another vessel or a wharf. (c) A screen to protect a
carriage from mud thrown off the wheels: also, a splashboard. (d)
Anything set up to protect an exposed angle, as of a house, from damage
by carriage wheels.
Fend"liche (?), a. Fiendlike. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Fen"er*ate (?), v. i. [L. faeneratus, p. p. of faenerari lend on
interest, fr. faenus interest.] To put money to usury; to lend on
interest. [Obs.] Cockeram.
Fen`er*a"tion (?), n. [L. faeneratio.] The act of fenerating; interest.
[Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
||Fen`es-tel"la (?), n. [L., dim. of fenestra &?; window.] (Arch.) Any
||small windowlike opening or recess, esp. one to show the relics
||within an altar, or the like.
||Fe*nes"tra (?), n.; pl. FenestrÊ (#). [L., a window.] (Anat.) A small
||opening; esp., one of the apertures, closed by membranes, between the
||tympanum and internal ear.
Fe*nes"tral (?), a. [L. fenestra a window.] 1. (Arch.) Pertaining to a
window or to windows.