fence

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

English

Etymology

From Middle English fence, fens, short for defence, defens (“the act of defending”), from Old French defens, defense (see defence).

The sense "enclosure" arises in the mid 15th century. Also from the 15th century is use as a verb in the sense "to enclose with a fence". The generalized sense "to defend, screen, protect" arises ca. 1500. The sense "to fight with swords (rapiers)" is from the 1590s (Shakespeare).

Displaced native Old English heġe (compare Modern English hedge).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛns/, [fɛns], [fɛnts]
• Rhymes: -ɛns

Noun

fence (countable and uncountable, plural fences)

1. A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc.
2. (informal) Someone who hides or buys and sells stolen goods, a criminal middleman for transactions of stolen goods.
3. (by extension) The place whence such a middleman operates.
4. Skill in oral debate.
5. (obsolete, uncountable) The art or practice of fencing.
6. A guard or guide on machinery.
7. (figuratively) A barrier, for example an emotional barrier.
8. (programming) A memory barrier.
9. (cricket) The boundary.

Hyponyms

• catch fence
• electric fence
• picket fence
• snow fence

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Pennsylvania German: Fens

Translations

See also

• wire netting
• wire gauze

Verb

fence (third-person singular simple present fences, present participle fencing, simple past and past participle fenced)

1. (transitive) To enclose, contain or separate by building fence.
2. (transitive) To defend or guard.
3. (transitive) To engage in the selling or buying of stolen goods.
4. (intransitive, sports) To engage in the sport of fencing.
5. (intransitive, equestrianism) To jump over a fence.
6. (intransitive) To conceal the truth by giving equivocal answers; to hedge; to be evasive.

Synonyms

• (to sell or buy stolen goods): pawn

Derived terms

• fence in
• ring-fence, ringfence

Translations

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɛnt͡sɛ]
• Rhymes: -ɛntsɛ
• Hyphenation: fen‧ce

Noun

fence

1. dative singular of fenka
2. locative singular of fenka