DEFENDANT, adjective 1. Defensive; proper for defense. 2. Making defense; being in the character of a defendant DEFENDANT, noun 1. He that defends against an assailant, or against the approach of evil or danger. 2. In law, the party that opposes a complaint, demand or charge; he that is summoned into court, and defends, denies or opposes the demand or charge, and maintains his own right. It is applied to any party of whom a demand is made in court, whether the party denies and defends, or admits the claim and suffers a default.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI