Meaning

verb resist or confront with resistance

verb elude, especially in a baffling way

verb challenge

originFrom Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin *disfidare (“renounce one's faith”), from Latin dis- (“away”) + fidus (“faithful”). Meaning shifted in the 14th century from "be disloyal" to "challenge". Contrast confide, fidelity, faith.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0