Defeat Once Meant to Undo
Defeat is a loss in contest. The word originally meant to undo or destroy, from the same root as fact and feat.
Defeat is the state of being beaten, and the act of beating. Its first English sense was to undo or bring to nothing, from Latin *disfacere*, to undo. That is why a legal document can still be *defeated* in the sense of being nullified, and why the word shares a root with *fact*, *feat* and *factory* — all from *facere*, to do or make.
- A loss in contest. *A narrow defeat.*
- To beat. *They defeated the champions.*
- To frustrate. *The lock defeated him.*
- To nullify. *Defeat the claim.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | defeat | A heavy defeat. |
| Plural | defeats | Successive defeats. |
| Verb | defeat | Defeat the motion. |
| Adjective | defeatist | A defeatist attitude. |
| Related | feat | A remarkable feat. |
How it is used in a sentence
- They admitted defeat.Conceded.
- The puzzle defeated me.Frustrated.
- That defeats the purpose.Undoes it.
Words from *facere*, to do
- Defeat — to undo
- Feat — a thing done
- Fact — a thing done, and therefore true
- Factory — a place of making
- Affect — to act upon
From Old French *desfait*, past participle of *desfaire*, from Latin *disfacere*, to undo, from *dis* and *facere*, to do.
Are feat and defeat related?
Yes. Both come from Latin *facere*, to do. A feat is something done; a defeat is something undone.
What does *defeat the purpose* mean?
To undo the point of an action, so that doing it achieves the opposite of what was intended.