altered (after de- & feature) < ME defaitor < OFr desfaiture < desfaire: see defeat
defeature in American English1
(dɪˈfitʃər)
noun
archaic
disfigurement
Word origin
[1580–90; de- + feature]This word is first recorded in the period 1580–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: category, classical, cockpit, humanist, piggybackde- is a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin (decide); also used to indicate privation, removal, and separation (dehumidify), negation (demerit; derange), descent (degrade; deduce), reversal (detract), or intensity (decompound)
defeature in American English2
(dɪˈfitʃər)
noun
obsolete
defeat; ruin
Word origin
[1580–90; defeat + -ure]This word is first recorded in the period 1580–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bomb, category, critical, filibuster, piggyback-ure an abstract-noun suffix of action, result, and instrument, occurring in loanwordsfrom French and Latin. Other words that use the affix -ure include: exposure, nature, picture, signature, structure