To "forfend" (for-FEND) – from the Middle English for "to ward off" – is to defend, protect, preserve. It can also mean prevent or avert.
Example (as used by John Maddox in What Remains To Be Discovered): "The river of discovery will continue to flow without cessation, deepening our understanding of the world and enhancing our capacity to forfend calamity and live congenial lives."
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