"defensive" in seven languages
Meaningdefensive
Spanish
defensivo
/defenˈsibo/
learned
French
défensif
/defɑ̃sif/
learned
fem.: défensive
Italian
difensivo
/difenˈsivo/
learned
Portuguese
defensivo
/defẽˈsivu/
learned
Romanian
defensiv
/defenˈsiv/
learned
Catalan
defensiu
/dəfənˈsiw/
learned
fem.: defensiva
English
defensive
/dɪˈfɛnsɪv/
from Latin/French · Old French defensif
English → ItaliandefensivedifensivoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
DĒFĒNSĪVUM (Medieval Latin)‘serving to defend’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A medieval learned coinage on DĒFENDERE. Italian turns the prefix de- into di- (difendere, difensivo), a regular Tuscan change.
English relatives: defend, defense, defensible
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNo te pongas tan a la defensiva.
- frNe sois pas sur la défensive.
- itNon metterti sulla difensiva.
- ptNão fique tão na defensiva.
- roNu fi atât de defensiv.
- caNo et posis tan a la defensiva.
- enDon't be so defensive.