Word to the Wise: Forfend
by ETR (04/14/2008)
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."