E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Defeat.
There is a somewhat strange connection between de-feat and de-feature. Defeat is the French de-fait, un-made or un-done, Latin, de-factus (defectus, our “defect”); and feature is the Norman faiture, Latin factu’ra, the make-up, frame, or form. Hence old writers have used the word “defeat” to mean disfigure or spoil the form.
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“Defeat thy favour [face] with an usurped beard.”—Shakespeare: Othello, i. 3.
