释义 |
defensibleadj.![](/freq5.svg) Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French defensable; French defencible. Etymology: Partly (in α. forms) < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French defensable (French (now rare) défensable ) (of people, armies, etc.) able or ready to fight (late 12th cent.), (of a building, fortification, etc.) that provides a defence (late 14th cent. or earlier), (of weapons, armour, clothing, etc.) that provides protection against attack or injury (1410 or earlier) < post-classical Latin defensabilis able to be defended (4th cent.) < classical Latin dēfensāre to act in defence against, to protect (see defence v.) + -bilis -ble suffix; and partly (in β. forms) < Anglo-Norman defencible, Anglo-Norman and Middle French defensible, Middle French deffensible < post-classical Latin defensibilis capable of defence (6th cent.) < classical Latin dēfens- , past participial stem of dēfendere defend v. + -ibilis -ible suffix. Compare defendable adj. and its French etymon.Compare Old Occitan defensable, Spanish defensible (early 15th cent.), †defensable (a1460). 1. Able to provide a defence; defensive. society > armed hostility > warrior > defender > [adjective] c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 11423 Hii hulde hom þere defensables, to libbe oþer to deie. c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner (1876) 195 (MED) The Duke of Yorke come to the sayde Parlymentt..and the Duke of Northefolke whythe a grete multytude of defensabylle men. 1481 W. Caxton tr. (1893) ccix. 306 Ther were therin turkes many, hardy and defensable. c1503 R. Arnold f. Cxiij/1 Wyth certayn nombre off defensible parsones. c1550 (1979) xix. 129 Sa mony of ȝou, that ar defensabil men. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iii. 133 We no longer are defensible . View more context for this quotation 1636 W. Prynne 4 Great Navies of Ships and people defensible. 1727 A. Collins 336 He was..Commissioned to Array all defensible Men. 1786 F. Grose I. 67 Under the article of summoning the defensible men of the realm, may be placed some very extraordinary writs. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in 2nd Ser. II. 207 Every defensible man of you..keep his weapons in readiness. 1888 Dec. 566/1 He could levy taxes, raise defensible troops, grant charters. 1936 R. Stewart-Brown i. 29 All defensible men must join them on pain of death and mutilation. 2002 A. King in C. Given-Wilson II. 26 The authority to array the defensible men of the county. society > armed hostility > defence > [adjective] > affording defence society > armed hostility > defence > [adjective] > affording defence > of a place a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1961) Judges vi. 2 Þey made to hem..most defensable [L. munitissima] placys to wiþstondyn. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer (Hunterian) (1891) l. 4168 A porte colys defensable. 1490 W. Caxton tr. (1885) vi. 149 Barbacanes well defensable. 1548 f. Cxijv The lord Talbot..did set vp vpon the mount de Poulet, a strong and defensible Bastile. 1627 J. Speed Garnsey §2 A Pale of Rockes..uery defensible vnto the Iland. 1699 W. Dampier i. viii. 161 I know not..what Charges have been bestowed on it since to make it defenceable. 1781 E. Gibbon III. lxiv. 609 He maintained the most useful and defensible posts. 1818 H. Hallam I. vi. 520 Notwithstanding the vast population, and defensible strength of Constantinople. 1415–16 in f. 243 Also ilkan of yame sal..yeld up all maner of wapons defensables. ?1418 Guildhall Let.-bk. in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt (1931) 70 In here best and most defensable harneys. 1513–14 Act 5 Henry VIII c. 6 in (1963) III. 95 Any armor or defencible gere of Warre. 1548 f. lvi The citezens..had prouided for al thinges necessary & defensible. c1613 ( in T. Stapleton (1839) 40 All such personnes as ye may make in there most defensible arrey. 1663 N. Boteler i. i. 9 Such kind of Arms as are defensible against the Sword. 1797 J. Pinkerton II. xiv. 296 Their followers in the most defensible array. 1834 Mar. 121/2 The fire-arms and other defensible weapons were prepared. 1856 Jan. 125/1 The hermit crab, which is obliged to dress its soft body in the first defensible armour it can pick up. 1915 24 Aug. 5/3 Warn his clergy to be in defensible array. 1974 J. Lane v. 129 Repair to his Highness at his manor of Hampton Court, in defensible array, with harness and weapons. c1503 R. Arnold f. lxiij/1 Couered wyth clay or some other defensable plaster. 1545 (STC 16034) sig. KK.iv Be thou vnto me..a defensible God. a1615 N. Downton in S. Purchas (1625) I. iv. xi. 511 He had seene the ship, and viewed our Ordnance, and all our defencible preparations. society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > justification > [adjective] > vindicated > able to be > able to be defended by argument 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville (Caxton) (1859) i. xvii. 18 My cause..was nought defensable by ought that I couthe se. c1510 (de Worde) sig. K.iiv Man shall gyue a sentence defensable ayenst suche men. 1580 J. Bell tr. J. Foxe i. f. 20v Is there any thing..so forcible of power, or so defencible with Counsell, that can eyther escape his eyes, or bee able to resist his will? 1622 W. Ames i. 15 The assumption here set down is defensable enough. 1672 E. Worsley i. xix. 204 An improbable Religion..is not defensible. 1725 T. Woolston 79 Religion is not defensible upon any of their Principles. 1769 ‘Junius’ (1772) I. xvi. 111 The..resolution..is defensible on general principles of reason. 1802 C. Smith 11 Aug. (2003) 433 The vulgar national prejudice of a coarse mind & other less defensible motives. 1862 Apr. 117 We are disposed to regard Dr. Bushnell's view..as not only logically defensible, but in a high degree suggestive and important. 1910 26 July 11/6 There is, moreover, a far simpler and much more defensible explanation. 1967 M. Cowling i. 52 The landed interest was legitimate and defensible. 2011 15 266 The main right we have when we are being considered for jobs..is that we be treated according to procedures that are morally defensible. society > armed hostility > defence > [adjective] > capable of being defended 1572 I. B. sig. F.iv The Arde..is..defensible with a few men. 1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio vi. 207 The rocke with such unexpert soldiers was not defensible [It. difensibile]. 1667 ‘Rege Sincera’ 24 The place was not defensible with so few people as we were. 1705 J. Addison 534 Defensible by a very little Army against a numerous Enemy. 1757 27 Suppl. 582/1 A few days preparation would make it sufficiently defensible against a Coup de main. 1816 M. Keating (1817) I. 259 His fortress was defensible against all the power of man. 1873 J. H. Burton (ed. 2) VI. lxxii. 256 Dumbarton was supposed to be more defensible. 1930 C. C. Davies in H. H. Dodwell V. xxv. 459 Easily defensible, with a good water supply. 1977 26 Aug. 6/2 The Panama Canal is simply not defensible against sabotage or missile bombing. 2014 (Nexis) 10 Jan. 12 The Jordan Valley is the only available defensible border on the eastern front. the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or secure 1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe iii. f. 278v If you stand so defensible by the protection of the holyghost, agaynst all assaultes and attemptes of heretiques, why..do ye not committe your cause to the Lord? 1655 (ed. 2) 343 Against wind and rain shall make and keep defensible. 1793 J. Smeaton (ed. 2) §253 We could not leave the work in a more defensible state. Derivatives society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > capability of being defended 1583 T. Stocker tr. iii. 79v The Citizens..were determined, notwithstanding the weakenes and small defensablenesse of their towne, to resist ye force of the enemie. a1687 W. Petty (1690) 14 The defensibleness of the Country by reason of its Situation on the Sea. 1730 B. Wilson tr. J. A. de Thou II. xviii. 175 He was certified of the defensibleness of the Place. 1830 T. P. Thompson in Jan. 246 The defensibleness of particular branches of a system. 1921 31 Aug. 4/1 The fact that moonshine..is the main means of commanding money doubtless contributes to the belief in its defensibleness. 2011 A. Haroun & D. Naimark iii. 77 They may genuinely (consciously) believe in the defensibleness of their actions. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.c1325 |