defendant

English Online Dictionary. What means defendant‎? What does defendant mean?

English

Alternative forms

• defendaunt (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈfɛnd.ənt/

Etymology 1

From Middle English defendaunt (“defending; defending in a suit”), borrowed from Old French defendant, present participle of defendre, from Latin dēfendere.

Adjective

defendant (comparative more defendant, superlative most defendant)

1. Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive, defending.

Etymology 2

From Middle English defendaunt (“defendant in a suit; defender”), borrowed from Old French defendant, nominalisation of defendant; see above.

Noun

defendant (plural defendants)

1. (law) In civil proceedings, the party responding to the complaint; one who is sued and called upon to make satisfaction for a wrong complained of by another.
2. (law) In criminal proceedings, the accused.

Usage notes

In Canadian and Philippine law, defendant is generally used only for a party being sued civilly; a person being tried criminally is the accused.

Synonyms

• (law, litigation): (in civil proceedings) respondant

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “in civil proceedings”): plaintiff, claimant
• (antonym(s) of “in criminal proceedings”): prosecutor

Hypernyms

• litigant

Derived terms

Related terms

• respondent

Translations

Latin

Verb

dēfendant

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of dēfendō