دفاع

Arabic

Root
د ف ع (d-f-ʕ)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.faːʕ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

دِفَاع • (difāʕ) m

1. verbal noun of دَافَعَ (dāfaʕa) (form III)
2. defence/defense

   الدِّفَاعُ عَنِ النَّفْسِ هُوَ وَاحِدٌ مِنْ طُرُقِ الْكِفَاحِ مِنْ أَجَلِ الْوُجُودِ.

   ad-difāʕu ʕani n-nafsi huwa wāḥidun min ṭuruqi l-kifāḥi min ʔajali l-wujūdi.

   Self-defense is one of the ways of fighting for existence.

Declension

Declension of noun دِفَاع (difāʕ)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	دِفَاع difāʕ	الدِّفَاع ad-difāʕ	دِفَاع difāʕ
Nominative	دِفَاعٌ difāʕun	الدِّفَاعُ ad-difāʕu	دِفَاعُ difāʕu
Accusative	دِفَاعًا difāʕan	الدِّفَاعَ ad-difāʕa	دِفَاعَ difāʕa
Genitive	دِفَاعٍ difāʕin	الدِّفَاعِ ad-difāʕi	دِفَاعِ difāʕi

Pashto

Noun

دفاع • (difā́ҁ) f

1. defense, protection

References

• “دفاع”, in Pashto Dictionary, Peshawar, Pakistan: Pukhtoogle, 2020.
• Pashtoon, Zeeya A. (2009) “دفاع”, in Pashto–English Dictionary, Hyattsville: Dunwoody Press

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic دِفَاع (difāʕ).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [di.fɑːʔ]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [d̪ɪ.fɑːʔ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [d̪ɪ.fɑːʔ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [d̪ɪ.fɑː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [d̪i.fɔː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [d̪e.fɒːʔ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [d̪i.fɔʔ]

Readings
Classical reading?	difā'
Iranian reading?	defâ'
Tajik reading?	difoʾ

Noun

Dari	دفاع
Iranian Persian
Tajik	дифоъ

دِفاع • (defâ')

1. defence/defense

   Synonym: پَدافَنْد (padâfand)

   Antonyms: حَمْله (hamle), یورِش (yureš)

   وِزارَتِ دِفاع ― vezârat-e defâ' ― Ministry of Defence

   دِفاعِ شَخْصی ― defâ'-e šaxsi ― self-defense

Derived terms

• دِفاع کِرْدَن (defâ' kardan, “to defend”)
• دِفاعی (defâ'i, “defensive”)

 

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian دِفَاع (difā'), from Arabic دِفَاع (difāʕ).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /d̪ɪ.fɑː(ʔ)/
• Hyphenation: دِ‧فاع

Noun

دِفاع • (difā') m (Hindi spelling दिफ़ा)

1. defence (of character against allegations)
2. defence (military)

Further reading

• “دفاع”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “دفاع”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “دفاع”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.