Definition of "defendant"

defendant¹

/dɪˈfɛnd.ənt/

adjective
comparative more defendant, superlative most defendant
1. Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive, defending.
  Quotations
  Thus comes the English with full power upon us;And more than carefully it us concernsTo answer royally in our defences.Therefore the Dukes of Berri and of Bretagne,Of Brabant and of Orleans, shall make forth,And you, Prince Dauphin, with all swift dispatch,To line and new repair our towns of warWith men of courage and with means defendant;
  1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene iv]

defendant²

/dɪˈfɛnd.ənt/

noun
plural defendants
1. (law) In civil proceedings, the party responding to the complaint; one who is sued and called upon to make satisfaction for a wrong complained of by another.
2. (law) In criminal proceedings, the accused.