# Fencing
## Overview
**Fencing** has two primary meanings: the competitive sport of sword fighting under formal rules, and the material or activity of constructing barriers (fences). Both derive from the same source — the concept of defense.
## Etymology
The word is the gerund/present participle of **fence** (verb), which is a shortened form of **defence**. The process of losing an initial unstressed syllable is called **aphesis**: *defence* → *fence*. Old French *defens* came from Latin *defensum*, past participle of *defendere* ('to ward off, protect'), composed of *de-* ('from, away') and *-fendere* ('to strike, push'). The PIE root is **\*gʷʰen-** ('to strike, kill').
The word **fence** radiates three seemingly unrelated meanings from a single origin:
**1. Physical Barrier**: A fence is a defensive structure — a means of protecting property by warding off intruders or containing animals. This is the most literal extension of 'defense' to a physical object.
**2. Sword Art**: Fencing is the art of defense with a sword. The earliest English fencing manuals describe the discipline as 'the noble art of defence.' The connection is direct: a fencer's primary skill is defending against attacks, not merely striking.
**3. Criminal Dealer**: A 'fence' in criminal slang (first attested 1610s) is a receiver and reseller of stolen goods. The dealer acts as a screen or 'defense' between the thief and the legitimate market, protecting the thief from detection. The verb 'to fence' (stolen goods) follows naturally.
Latin *defendere* produced a large English word family:
- **Defend**: to ward off attack - **Defense/Defence**: the act of warding off - **Defendant**: one who defends (in law) - **Offend**: *ob-* ('against') + *-fendere* — to strike against, to transgress - **Offensive**: attacking, striking against - **Fence**: shortened from defense - **Fend**: shortened from defend ('fend for yourself,' 'fend off') - **Fender**: something that fends off — originally a fireplace guard, now a car bumper panel
Competitive fencing developed from European martial swordsmanship. By the 16th century, Italian and Spanish fencing masters had systematized sword technique into teachable schools. The three modern weapons — **foil** (practice weapon, from French *refouler* 'to turn back'), **épée** (from Old French *espee*, from Latin *spatha* 'broad sword'), and **sabre** (from Hungarian *szablya*, from *szabni* 'to cut') — each represent different historical combat traditions.
Fencing has been included in every modern Olympic Games since 1896, making it one of only five sports to hold that distinction.
PIE **\*gʷʰen-** ('to strike, kill') has wide Indo-European distribution. In English, the Germanic descendants include **bane** (Old English *bana* 'slayer, cause of death') and the archaic suffix **-bane** (as in *wolfsbane*, *henbane*). Greek *phonos* ('murder, slaughter') — visible in English **Anglophone** (through a different Greek word that converged in form) — shows the Hellenic reflex. Sanskrit *hanti* ('he strikes') preserves the root in Indo-Iranian.
## Related Forms
The word family includes **fence** (noun and verb), **fencer** (practitioner), **unfenced** (without barriers), **fend** (shortened from defend), and **fender** (protective device).